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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/historyoffirstloOObrow 


HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA 

BTT   -<CV-    H.    BE.OT7V-3ST- 


NOTICES  OF  THE   PRESS.— First  Edition. 

"  There  has  been  on  our  table  for  some  weeks  a  book  which  we  were  reluctant 
to  notice  in  the  usual  brief  space  we  can  generally  allot  to  new  publications.  We 
have  read  this  book  with  an  interest  and  enjoyment  that  we  are  sure  it  will  give  to 
every  intelligent  mind.  .  .  .  We  would  gladly  extend  our  rambles  through  this 
pleasant  and  instructive  book,  but  our  limits  forbid.  We  have  shown  the  reader 
some  of  its  attractions,  of  which  copious  extracts  from  autograph  letters  are  the 
chief,  as  they  bring  the  reader  into  close  contact  with  the  individuality  of  a  class 
of  men  which  is  rarely  found  in  other  works.  The  book  is  plainly  but  neatly 
bound,  is  published  for  the  author  by  the  Appletons,  and  is  sure  to  meet  with  an 
extensive  sale." — Scientific  American. 

"  The  fact  that  a  large  portion  of  our  readers  are  directly  interested  in  and  con- 
nected with  the  railroad  service,  must  be  our  apology  for  calling  particular  attention 
to  a  work  which  might  ordinarily  be  supposed  to  be  somewhat  outside  our  prov- 
ince as  telegraphic  journalists.  But  the  author  of  this  work,  'The  History  of  the 
First  Locomotives  in  America,'  has  done  a  real  service  to  the  intelligent  and  think- 
ing class  of  American  railroad  men,  by  the  care  and  thoughtfulness  which  he  has 
shown  in  the  preparation  of  an  authentic  history  of  early  locomotive  engineering 
and  practice  in  this  country. 

_"  We  have  not  the  space  to  enter  into  an  extended  review  of  this  deeply  inter- 
esting work,  and  can  only  mention  som»3  of  its  most  prominent  points.  .  .  .  The 
work  is_  fully  illustrated  with  engravings  from  authentic  sources  of  all  the  early 
locomotives,  all  of  which  are  curious  and  interesting  in  the  highest  degree.  We 
can  assure  all  our  readers  interested  in  railroad  matters  that  they  will  find  Mr. 
Brown's  book  well  worth  its  cost." — New  York  ~ 


"  It  is  difficult  for  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  extent  of  the  present  railroad 
system  in  this  country  to  realize  that  it  was  inaugurated  by  persons  who  are  still 
living,^  that  the  present  president  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers, 
Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  ran  the  first  locomotive  which  was  ever  put  in  operation  in 
this  country,  and  that  the  builder  of  the  first  experimental  locomotive  tried  in 
America  can  be  seen  daily  in  the  streets  of  New  York.  Nevertheless,  such  is  the 
fact.  The  book  whose  title  we  have  made  the  heading  of  this  article,  gives  what 
has  never  been  written  before— an  authentic  history  of  early  locomotive  engineering 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  In  this  work  are  gathered  and  put  in  form  some 
4  bits  of  history  '  scattered  over  the  country,  some  resting  only  in  the  memories  of 
men  still  living,  while  others  are  to  be  found  in  documents  scattered  here  and 
there,  all  of  which  were  liable  to  loss  or  destruction  had  they  not  been  preserved  in 
some  record  like  the  book  before  us.  This  book  will  therefore  be  read  by  engineers, 
by  railroad  men,  and  indeed  by  every  one,  with  great  interest,  especially  as  many  of 
the  facts  contained  in  it  have  never  before  been  clearly  or  authentically  presented  to 
the  public. 

"  Scattered  all  through  the  book  many  very  curious  incidents  and  facts  are  re- 
cited, which  seem  as  though  they  must  have  occurred  in  the  lives  of  the  Pharaohs 
instead  of  within  the  memory  of  men  now  living.  We  commend  this  work  to  the 
-~  public."— Railroad  Gazette  {New  York). 


"An  excellently  written  work,  giving,  as  its  title  indicates,  a  complete  history 
of  the  first  efforts  in  the  manufacture  of  locomotives  in  this  country.  Copiously  and 
admirably  illustrated,  it  contains  information  on  this  important  subject,  collected 
from  every  available  source.  We  can  cordially  recommend  this  volume  to  all  of 
our  readers  interested  in  the  progress,  of  the  mechanical  arts,  as  both  instructive 
and  entertaining.  It  is  handsomely  bound,  both  paper  and  press-work  being  fully  up 
to  the  standard  of  the  well-known  publishing  house  by  which  it  is  issued."— Manu- 
facturer and  Builder. 


NOTICES    OF   THE  PRESS.— (Continued.) 


"  A  very  interesting  book  has  been  prepared  by  Mr.§  W.  H.  Brown,  giving  a  his- 
tory, from  reliable  sources  of  information,  of  the  first  locomotives  used  and  con- 
structed in  this  country. 

"  The  author  has  for  several  years  been  engaged  in  collecting  the  materials  for 
this  work  ;  and  the  result  is  a  volume  of  some  250  pages,  containing  a  great  num- 
ber of  facts,  incidents,  and  reminiscences,  connected  with  the  early  attempts  to  apply 
steam  as  a  motive-power  for  land  locomotion. 

"  Ilardly  any  one  who  has  a  realizing  sense  of  the  magnitude  of  the  railway  sys- 
tem as  it  exists  to-day  in  our  own  country,  and  who  also  takes  into  account  the 
comparative  brief  period  which  has  elapsed  since  its  beginning,  can  fail  to  be  inter- 
ested in  the  contents  of  Mr.  Brown's  book.  Not  only  is  it  especially  attractive  to 
engineers  and  railroad  men  generally,  but  it  is  no  less  adapted  to  popular  apprecia- 
tion, describing  as  it  does  the  first  rude  and  feeble  attempts  to  bridle  and  break 
into  harness  the  power  which  had  for  centuries  lain  dormant,  or  only  now  and  then 
giving  a  hint  of  its  capacities  by  lifting  the  lid  of  a  tea-kettle.  It  is  no  less  instruc- 
tive than  amusing  to  go  back  to  these  pioneer  attempts,  as  they  are  graphically 
described  and  illustrated  in  this  volume,  and  trace  the  progress  which  has  been 
made  in  half  an  ordinary  lifetime. 

"  The  author  of  this  deeply-interesting  book  is  deserving  of  the  thanks  of  the 
railway  public  for  the  service  he  has  rendered  in  collecting  and  preserving,  in  a 
permanent  form,  the  facts  and  materials  it  contains,  and  which  would  otherwise 
have  been  irrecoverably  lost." — The  National  Car-Builder. 

"  This  volume  belongs  to  a  class  which  has  too  few  representatives  in  our  tech- 
nical literature — those  which  gather  up  from  threatened  oblivion  the  records  of 
what  was  done  in  the  infancy  of  American  industrial  and  engineering  enterprise, 
and  provide  in  permanent  form  the  material  from  which  the  historian  in  after-times 
will  cull  his  choicest  data. 

"  The  writer  of  the  volume  before  us  has  traced  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner 
the  history  of  the  locomotive,  as  concerns  its  introduction  and  use  in  this  country, 
and  his  book  should  find  a  place  on  the  library-shelves  of  all  who  take  an  interest 
either  in  the  practical  workings  and  management  of  railroads,  or  of  those  who  de- 
light in  studying  the  development  of  the  industrial  agencies  to  which  all  lands,  and 
our  own  in  particular,  owe  so  much  of  their  progress  in  all  that  pertains  to  civil- 
ized life. 

"  So  much  for  the  topic  indicated  on  the  title-page  of  the  book  before  us,  and  to 
which  we  do  but  inadequate  justice  in  this  brief  reviaw.  The  writer  has  sought  to 
verify  his  statements  by  original  documents,  which  are  frequently  quoted  entire,  and 
help  to  make  the  book  full  of  quaint,  out-of-the-way,  and  interesting  information. 
Read  it,  everybody ;  it  will  richly  repay  the  cost." — American  Artisan. 

"  Few  subjects  of  such  recent  origin  have  been  more  involved  in  uncertainty 
than  the  inauguration  of  steam  transportation  by  locomotives  in  this  country.  Mill- 
ions of  persons  are  now  living  whose  lives  antedate  the  time  that  the  first  locomo- 
tive was  run  in  America  :  but  the  advent  of  this  great  power  of  modern  times  was 
so  gently  effected,  that  hardly  any  record  was  made  of  the  event ;  and,  though  the 
author  of  the  present  volume  has  finally  settled  the  question,  he  was  only  able  to  do 
so  after  the  most  searching  investigation.  This  work  contains  a  very  comprehensive 
account  of  the  various  inventions  in  locomotives,  cars,  and  railroads,  which  the  de- 
sire for  rapid  transit  first  brought  into  existence,  and  the  principal  incidents  con- 
nected with  the  different  first  trial-trips.  One  picture,  a  silhouette,  of  the  first  loco- 
motive and  train  of  cars  in  the  State  of  New  York,  from  Albany  to  Schenectady, 
sketched  at  the  very  time  by  the  author  of  this  work,  has  already  been  widely 
circulated.  The  book  will  prove  deeply  interesting  to  every  class,  and  should  be  found 
in  every  library." — New  York  Times. 

"  This  is  a  valuable  and  deeply-interesting  work  for  the  scientific  railroad  man, 
and  the  reading  public  generally.  It  is  a  graphic  embodiment  of  the  early  history 
and  incidents  of  the  locomotive,  and  has  the  merit  of  being  a  profound  treatise,  yet 
not  prosy,  sparkling  with  readable  matter  for  the  most  superficial.  It  should  be 
found  in  the  library  or  bookcase  of  every  house.  Mr.  W.  H.  Brown  is  the  author." 
— Harrisburg  Evening  Mercury. 





THE    HISTOKT 


FIRST  LOCOMOTIYES  II  AMERICA. 


FROM  ORIGINAL  DOCUMENTS,  AND   TEE  TESTIMONY 
OF  LIVING  WITNESSES. 


BY 

WILLIAM   H.   ^ROWlO 


REVISED  EDITIOK 


NEW  YORK : 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

549    k    55  1    BROADWAY. 

1874. 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRAKV 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18V1, 
By  KOTO'S  A.  HOKEELL, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


$<vm 


DEDICATION" 


To  Peter  Cooper,  Esq.,  New  York — 

My  dear  Sir  :  It  is  my  belief  that  your  early  and 
most  successful  experiments  upon  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Eailroad  in  1829-1830  proved  that  the  locomo- 
tive could  "be  used  as  a  power  upon  the  short-curved 
railroads  in  this  country.  The  practicability  of  this 
was  doubted  at  the  time  mentioned  even  by  the  most 
eminent  engineers  in  Europe.  I  cannot,  therefore,  re- 
frain from  bestowing  upon  you  the  praise  of  having 
given  the  first  impulse  to  the  adoption  of  the  locomo- 
tive in  the  United  States,  a  fact  which  justly  entitles 
you  to  the  honor  of  being  regarded  as  the  "  Father  of 
the  Locomotive  System  in  America." 

This,  sir,  is  not  the  only  benefit  your  energy,  your 
wealth,  and  your  liberality,  have  conferred  upon  your 
countrymen.  The  expenditure  in  acts  of  benevolence 
of  large  sums  from  your  private  fortune,  acquired  by 
your  own  industry  and  frugality,  is  an  example  to  the 
youths  of  America ;  and  in  your  "  Institute  "  you  will 
(after  a  long  life  of  usefulness)  leave  an  imperishable 
monument  for  future  generations  to  dwell  upon  and 
admire. 


iv  DEDICATION. 

Will  you  permit  me  now,  my  dear  sir,  as  a  slight 
tribute  to  the  respect  and  veneration  I  have  ever  felt 
for  your  many  good  deeds  to  your  countrymen,  to 
dedicate  to  you  this  humble  effort  on  my  part  to 
record  the  history  of  the  early  locomotives  in  Ameri- 
ca, in  which  you  took  such  an  active  and  promi- 
nent part — a  system  which  has  resulted  eventually 
in  the  development  of  the  vast  resources  of  our  coun- 
try, and  given  employment  to  many  thousands  of  the 
mechanical  and  industrial  classes  of  this  community? 
With  the  hope,  sir,  that  my  wish  upon  this  subject 
may  meet  with  your  cordial  approbation,  and  that  my 
work  may  be  favorably  received  and  prove  instructive 
and  interesting  to  the  public, 

I  remain,  dear  sir, 

Respectfully  yours, 

William  H.  Beown. 


PEEFA  OE. 


The  author  of  this  work,  being  familiar  with  rail- 
roads from  their  first  construction,  has,  at  much  labor 
and  expense,  collected  all  the  important  facts  in  rela- 
tion to  their  commencement  and  to  the  development 
of  the  locomotive-machine  in  this  country.  These  facts 
have  been  obtained  from  the  living  witnesses  who  were 
the  actors  in  those  early  events,  and  are  presented  in 
their  own  language  in  these  pages.  While  making  no 
pretensions  to  literary  merit,  he  claims  to  have  em- 
bodied in  this  volume  all  the  facts  of  the  early  history 
of  locomotives,  in  such  a  complete  form  as  to  satisfy 
the  most  skeptical.  He  therefore  presents  his  work  to 
the  public  with  full  confidence  that  his  efforts  to  rescue 
from  oblivion  the  names  of  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished pioneers  in  promoting  the  industrial  progress 
of  this  nation  will  be  kindly  appreciated. 

New  York,  August,  18*73. 


CONTENTS, 


I.— DEDICATION":  PM> 

Misrepresentations — Errors — John  B.  Jervis,  Esq. — Horatio  Allen, 
Esq.— B.  H.  Latrobe,  Esq.— David  Matthew,       ....       9 

n.— EARLY  RAILROADS : 

The  Egyptians — The  Romans — Railroads  in  Scotland  and  Eng- 
land— First  Iron  Rails  cast, 19 

in.— FIRST   HEAD   OF  STEAM: 

Hero — ChampolKon — Cardan — Solomon  de  Cause — Marquis  of 
Worcester — First  Steam-Engine — Pepin, 24 

TV.— FIRST   STEAMBOATS: 

Savary — Blasco  de  Garay — Genevois — Count  d'Auxiron — Perrier 
— Marquis  de  Jouffroy — Rumsey — Fitch — Miller — John  Stevens 
— Stanhope — Livingston — Fulton — First  Ocean-Steamer,     .        .     29 

V.— FIRST   STEAM-CARRIAGE : 

Cugnot — Symington — Murdoch — Thomas  Allen — Oliver  Evans — 
First  Proposition  for  Railroad — Mr.  Thomas's  Proposal — Dr. 
Anderson's, ...     34 

VI.— TREVITHICK'S  ENGINE: 

Blankensop — Chapman — Brunton's  Engine — Blackett,        .        .     38 

VII.— GEORGE   STEPHENSON: 

Early  Education — Experiments  at  the  Mines,       .        .        .        .45 

VHI.— STEPHENSON'S  ENGINE : 

Blucher — Second  Locomotive — Railways  for  General  Use — Mr. 
Thomas — Mr.  Gray, .        .    49 

IX.— FIRST  TRAINS: 

Hatton  Colliery  Road — Locomotive  used — Stockton  and  Darling- 
ton Railroad,  1825 — Stephenson's  Works — The  Active — Experi- 
ments— First  Passenger-Coach — Manner  of  running  Passenger- 
Coaches,     64 

X.— FIRST   DELIBERATIONS   ON  RAILROADS: 

Comparisons  between  Locomotive  and  Stationary  Engines — Com- 
mittee appointed — Report — Prize  offered  for  the  Best  Locomotive,     60 


Viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAP. 

XL— COMPETITION  FOR   THE  PRIZE:  PAGB 

Engines  entered — Trials — The  "Rocket" — "Novelty" — "  Sans- 
pareil," 65 

XII.— RAILROADS   IN  AMERICA: 

First  Railroad — Second  Railroad — De  Witt  Clinton  and  the 
Canal — Colonel  Stevens's  Proposition — Chancellor  Livingston's 
Opinion — Dearborn's  Proposal, 70 

Xm.- FIRST   ENGLISH  LOCOMOTIVE    BROUGHT   TO   AMERICA: 
David  Matthew's  First  Letter — Certificates,  etc. — John  B.  Jer- 
vis's  Letters — Horatio  Allen's  Letters  to  John  B.  Jervis,  fixing 
Date  of  Arrival  of  the  "  Stourbridge  Lion,"  .         .         .         .     74 

XIV.— DATE   OF  ITS  RUNNING: 

President  Dickson's  Letter — Superintendent  Young's  Letter — 
Miss  Blackman's  Letter — Extract  from  the  Dundaff  Republican, .     79 

XV.— LANDING  IN  AMERICA: 

Its  Performances  in  New  York — Arrival  at  Honesdale — Hon. 
John  Torry's  Description — Mr.  Matthew's  Description — A  Sketch 
of  the  English  Locomotive, 83 

XVI.— MORE  FACTS  OF  THE  "STOURBRIDGE  LION:" 

First  Stephenson  Engine — Mr.  Allen's  Description — What  be- 
came of  the  "  Stourbridge  Lion  " — Mr.  Allen's  Account  of  his  First 
Ride — The  Last  of  the  "  Lion," 88 

XVII.— FIRST    MEETING   OF   THE    BALTIMORE  AND   OHIO   RAIL- 
ROAD  CO. : 

Road  commenced — Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton — Road  com- 
pleted— How  built — Mr.  Swann's  Remarks,  .        .        .        .93 

XVIIL— FIRST   BRIGADE   OF   CARS: 

First  Experiment — Charles  Carroll — Railroad  Notice,  etc. — Travel- 
ling Memoranda — Early  Passenger-Cars, 97 

XIX.— ROSS  WINANS'S   IMPROVEMENTS: 

Passenger-Cars — First  Trains — First  Car  with  Centre  Gangway — 
Horatio  Allen  on  Springs, 103 

XX.— EXPERIMENTAL  LOCOMOTIVES: 

Peter  Cooper's  Locomotive — When  and  where  built  —  Mr. 
Cooper's  Letter — Why  it  was  built — Mr.  Latrobe's  Letter — De- 
scription of  the  Experiment, 108 

XXL— PETER  COOPER'S  LOCOMOTIVE: 

Mr.  Latrobe's  Letter — Description  of  the  Machine — Mr.  Ross 
Winans's  Description  of  the  Experiment,    .....  113 

XXII.— THE   TOM  THUMB  LOCOMOTIVE: 

First  Experimental  Trip — Race  with  Horse-Car — Ross  Winans's 
Comparisons, 116 

XXm.— SKETCH   OF  HORSE-LOCOMOTIVE: 

Sketch  of  the  "Meteor"  or  Sailing-Car — Contest  for  Right  of 
Way — Railroad  and  Canal  Company, 123 


CONTENTS.  ix 


CBAT. 

XXIV.— PETER  COOPER: 


PAOB 


Early  History — Education  and  Beginning  of  Life — Subsequent 
Career — Founding  the  Institute — Last  Act  of  Liberality,   .        .  12V 

XXV.— PRIZE  FOR  THE  BEST  LOCOMOTIVE: 

Conditions — Phineas  Davis's  York  Engine,        ....  131 

XXVI.— FIRST  AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVE: 

Commencement — South  Carolina  Railroad — Horatio  Allen's  Re- 
port— A  Prize  offered  for  best  Horse-power  Locomotive — The 
Sailing -Car  Experiment  —  Extract  from  Charleston  Courier — 
First  Locomotive  ordered  to  be  built  in  America  —  What  it 
was  to  perform,         .        . 135 

XXVH.— FURTHER  TRIALS: 

Letter  from  Mr.  Matthew — Letter  from  Prof.  Dickson — West 
Point  Order-book  —  Extract  from  Charleston  Courier  —  Mr. 
Petsch — Accident  to  Wheels — "  Jockey  of  York  " — Excursion- 
Trip,  140 

XXVIII.— EXPLOSION   OF   "BEST  FRIEND:" 

When  repaired  —  The  Cause  explained — Letter  from  Mr.  Dar- 
rell — Mr.  J.  M.  Eason's  Letter,  describing  the  Locomotive  "  Na- 
tive," and  its  First  Trial-Trip, 147 

XXLX.— SECOND  AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVE: 

Excursion  of  "West  Point" — Extract  from  the  Courier,  1831 — 
Letter  from  Mr.  Darrell — President  Tupper's  Report,         .        .  153 

,— FIRST  LOCOMOTIVE-ENGINEERS : 

Necrology  of  Mr.  Darrell — His  Death — Henry  E.  Raworth  and 
his  old  Negro  Foreman,  Adam  Perry, 158 

FIRST  RAILROAD  FOR  LOCOMOTIVES: 

First  Eight-wheeled  Locomotive, 162 

I.— CLAIMS  TO  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES: 

Extract  from  Philadelphia  Ledger — Lithograph  by  Sage  &  Son — 
Lithograph  by  Antique  Publishing  Company  of  Boston,     .        .  165 

-FIRST  LOCOMOTIVE  IN  NEW  YORK: 

Description  of  the  Ride— Sketch  of  the  Train — Letter  from  Mr. 
Matthew — Excursion, 1V0 

XXXIV.— FURTHER  EVIDENCES: 

Letter  from  Mr.  Matthew— Freight-bill  of  "  John  Bull  "—Ex- 
tracts  from  the  Albany  Argus — Last  of  "  John  Bull " — Second 
Excursion  to  Schenectady, 1*76 

XXXV.— THE  JUDGE'S  FIRST  RIDE: 

The  Author's  Art — Letter  from  Judge  Gillis — Author  receives 
the  Lithograph  of  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton  " — Letter  from  J.  L. 
Howard  &  Co., 182 

XXXVI.— LETTERS  FROM  OFFICIALS: 

First  Letter  from  Erastus  Corning — Letter  from  John  T.  Clark — 
Letter  from  John  B.  Jervis, 188 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAP. 

XXXVII.— ADDITIONAL  LETTERS:  PAOS 

Second  Letter  from  Mr.  Corning — Letter  from  Thurlow  Weed — 
Letter  from  John  B.  Jervis— Letter  from  Mr.  Kemble,       .        .192 

XXXVIII.— THE  AUTHOR'S  ART: 

Extract  from  the  Natchez  Courier — Extract  from  the  Albany 
Argus — Extract  from  the  Albany  Evening  Journal — Extract 
from  the  St.  Louis  Bulletin — Letter  from  Henry  A.  Wise — Let- 
ter from  Martin  Van  Buren — Letter  from  John  C.  Calhoun — 
Letter  from  Daniel  Webster — Letter  from  Henry  Clay,      .        .  196 

XXXIX.— RECAPITULATION : 

Phineas  Davis's  Machine — William  Kemble's  Letter,         .        .  201 

XL.— FIRST  TRUCK-LOCOMOTIVE : 

Mr.  Matthew's  Letter — Mr.  Jervis's  Letter — The  Great  Changes 
of  the  Past — Mr:  Latrobe's  Remarks — Remarks  of  Mr.  Briggs, 
of  Cleveland — Excursion  to  Europe  and  the  East — From  the 
Knickerbocker,  1831 — Remarks  of  Thomas  H.  Benton,     ,        .  207 

XLL— LOCOMOTIVE  WORKS: 

Schenectady  Shops,  .        , 223 

XLII.— CAR-WORKS : 

Gilbert  Bush  &  Co.'s  Shops,  Troy,  New  York,   .        .        .        .230 

XLIIL— STREET-CAR  WORKS : 

John  Stephenson  &  Co.,  4*7  Twenty-seventh  Street,  New  York,    236 

XLIV.— GRAND  CENTRAL  DEPOT,  NEW  YORK 243 


THE  HISTOEY  OP 


THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER    I. 

IKTEODUCTIOI. 

Theee  is,  perhaps,  at  the  present  day,  no  subject 
upon  which  the  community  at  large  is  so  poorly  in- 
formed as  the  history  of  the  first  locomotives  in 
America— in  what  year  they  were  built,  where  they 
were  constructed,  and  upon  what  railroad  they  were 
first  introduced  and  employed  in  actual  service. 

Especially  less  informed  upon  this  subject  are  the 
very  men  who,  above  all  others,  should  be  thoroughly 
conversant  with  all  the  particulars  in  the  history  of 
that  wonderful  machine — the  actual  means  which  now 
contribute  so  much  toward  the  maintenance  and  em- 
ploymenfc  of  a  large  class  of  the  industrial  portion  of 
our  community ;  we  mean  the  officers,  engineers,  fire- 
men, machinists,  mechanics,  laborers,  and,  in  short,  all 
employes  connected  with  railroad  service.  This  mel- 
ancholy lack  of  information  can  only  be  attributed  to 
a  want  of  an  opportunity  to  obtain  the  requisite  facts 
from  some  reliable  source,  where  they  are  in  such  a 
form  as  would  bring  them  within  the  reach  of  the 
masses   of  the  community.     True  it  is,  volumes  have 


10  HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

been  published,  giving  accurate  accounts  of  the  early 
experiments  and  subsequent  improvements  in  self-pro- 
pelling machines,  or  locomotives,  in  England ;  but  these 
works  are  too  rare,  voluminous,  and  expensive,  to  be  in 
general  circulation,  and  entirely  beyond  the  reach  of  a 
large  class  who  are  interested  in  the  subject;  and  even 
then,  they  bring  the  history  down  only  to  a  period  an- 
terior to  the  date  of  railroad  enterprise  in  this  country ; 
while  all  the  information  upon  the  subject  since  that 
time  (a  period  of  a  little  over  twoscore  years  in  dura- 
tion) seems  to  be  wrapped  in  impenetrable  mystery. 
To  obviate,  therefore,  this  difficulty  for  the  future,  and 
to  give  to  the  public  all  the  information  upon  the  sub- 
ject from  the  most  reliable  sources,  and  also  to  place 
it  in  such  a  form  as  to  bring  it  within  the  reach  of 
every  one,  are  tfre  objects  of  the  author  of  the  present 
work,  now  offered  to  the  public. 

Another  reason  which  influences  the  author  in 
publishing  his  present  work,  arises  from  the  fact  that, 
within  the  short  period  of  ten  or  fifteen  years,  and 
especially  within  the  last  few  years,  under  a  variety 
of  forms,  he  has  seen  and  read  in  our  public  journals 
nearly  as  many  different  accounts  of  the  early  locomo- 
tives in  America,  as  the  number  of  years  which  have 
elapsed  since  their  first  introduction,  all  of  them  pur- 
porting to  be  "  true  histories  of  the  first  engine  ever 
built  and  run  in  America."  But  not  one  of  these  ac- 
counts, claiming  priority  for  its  different  engines  and 
roads,  produces  the  slightest  evidence  to  sustain  their 
claim  of  being  the  pioneers  in  this  great  mechanical 
achievement,  which  within  the  last  half-century  has 
revolutionized  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  civilized 
world.  One  claim  to  the  credit  of  having  introduced 
the  first  American  locomotive,  we  saw  in  an  article  pub- 


INTRODUCTION.  H 

lished  in  the  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger,  of  the  18th 
January,  1869.  Another  claim  to  the  same  honor,  we 
saw  in  an  article  in  the  columns  of  the  Boston  Adver- 
tiser, January  28,  1869.  These  articles  we  will  copy 
in  full  in  our  work,  when  we  come  in  its  pages  to 
the  proper  place  to  describe  early  locomotives  in 
America,  when  they  were  built,  where  constructed,  and 
upon  what  railroad  put  into  practical  service. 

Again,  some  seven  or  eight  years  ago,  a  lithograph 
picture  representing  a  locomotive,  and  two  cars  filled 
with  passengers,  was  issued  from  the  lithographic  estab- 
lishment of  Messrs.  Sage  &  Sons,  of  Buffalo,  and  copy- 
righted by  Thomas  Jarmy.  This  lithograph  (a  copy  of 
which  is  now  before  the  author)  purports  to  have  been 
copied  from  an  original  picture  in  the  possession  of  the 
Connecticut  Historical  Society.  It  has  been  widely  cir- 
culated throughout  the  country,  and  is  said  to  represent 
"  the  first  locomotive  train  in  America."  The  engine  is 
said  to  be  the  "  John  Bull,  an  English  machine ;  and  the 
engineer,  who  is  represented  at  his  post  upon  the  plat- 
form of  the  engine,"  John  Hampson,  an  Englishman,  etc. 

Again,  in  1870,  this  same  original  picture  in  the 
rooms  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society  was  litho- 
graphed by  a  concern  in  Boston,  styled  the  "  Antique 
Publishing  Company  of  Boston."  In  this  lithograph 
the  locomotive  and  train  are  represented  precisely  like 
the  one  executed  in  Buffalo,  and  are  here  for  the  second 
time  said  to  be  a  sketch  of  the  first  locomotive  and 
train  in  America,  and  the  engine  named  the  "John 
Bull,"  an  English  engine,  and  the  engineer  "John 
Hampson." 

The  original  picture,  now  in  the  Connecticut  His- 
torical Society,  was  executed  by  the  author  of  this 
work,  and  presented  to  the  Society  forty  years  ago. 


12  HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

The  full  particulars  respecting  this  original  picture 
will  be  given  hereafter ;  and  the  author,  for  the  present, 
will  only  state  that  the  original  of  the  picture  was 
not  the  English  locomotive  "  John  Bull,"  nor  was  the 
engineer  on  the  occasion,  John  Hampson,  an  English- 
man ;  but  an  American-built  locomotive  and  an  Ameri- 
can engineer.  * 

Such  blunders  and  misstatements  as  we  have  just 
alluded  to  are  calculated  to  mislead  the  public,  and 
involve  the  early  history  of  the  locomotive  in  America 
in  a  cloud  of  obscurity ;  and  the  author  unhesitatingly 
believes  that,  if  the  true  histoiy  of  this  now  indispen- 
sable machine  is  left  unestablished  for  another  half-cen- 
tury, we  may  find  the  great  Union  and  Central  Pacific 
Eailroads  credited  by  some  (without  a  shadow  of  evi- 
dence, like  others)  with  the  introduction  of  the  first  loco- 
motive upon  a  railroad  in  America,  and  with  as  much 
chance  of  establishing  that  claim  as  they  no  doubt  have 
to  sustain  the  credit  of  being  the  first  in  uniting  the 
East  with  the  far  Western  boundaries  of  our  great  con- 
tinent by  their  interminable  belt  of  railroad-iron,  anni- 
hilating distance,  just  as  the  lightning-telegraph  anni- 
hilates time. 

The  deep  and  intense  interest  always  manifested,  by 
railroad  men  in  particular,  when  on  frequent  occasions 
the  author  has  explained  his  knowledge  of  the  facts 
connected  with  the  early  history  of  the  locomotive  in 
America,  and  the  reliable  sources  from  which  his  infor- 
mation was  derived,  often  induced  him  to  determine 
that,  when  a  favorable  opportunity  presented  itself,  he 
would  write  out  and  publish  a  work  like  the  present, 
but  he  has  hitherto  been  prevented  from  carrying  out 
his  desire,  from  his  isolated  position,  far  away  from  the 
facilities  requisite  for  such  a  task. 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

These  difficulties  are  now  removed,  and,  the  oppor- 
tunity being  presented,  his  long-cherished  determina- 
tion will  no  further  be  delayed.  In  compiling  this 
history,  all  the  authorities  upon  which  his  information 
is  based  will  be  set  forth  in  such  a  manner  that  it 
must  put  at  rest  forever  the  oft-disputed  question, 
"  When  and  where  was  the  first  locomotive  built  and 
run  in  America,  in  the  actual  service  of  a  company  ? " 

These  are  questions  oftentimes  heard,  when  groups 
of  engineers  and  other  railroad-men  are  congregated 
together  and  discoursing  upon  their  universal  topic, 
the  merits  and  achievements  of  their  favorite  machines ; 
and  how  often  is  there  one  in  the  group  who  will 
pretend  to  answer  the  questions,  and,  if  answered  at 
all,  how  often  are  they  answered  correctly  ?  There  is 
scarcely  a  State  in  the  Union  (especially  where  railroads 
existed  at  an  early  day)  which  has  not  enjoyed  the 
credit  on  these  occasions  of  being  the  pioneer  in  the 
introduction  of  this  most  wonderful  auxiliary  to  suc- 
cessful railroad  transportation.  Sometimes  we  have 
heard  the  credit  awarded  to  the  State  of  New  York, 
sometimes  to  Pennsylvania,  and  as  a  matter  of  course 
oftentimes  to  the  States  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecti- 
cut. Some,  who  profess  to  be  well  posted  upon  this 
point,  claim  the  honor  for  the  old  Portage  Railroad  of 
Pennsylvania ;  while  others,  equally  certain  and  conver- 
sant upon  the  subject,  in  their  opinion,  give  the  credit 
to  the  Germantown  and  Norristown  Railroad ;  and  so 
on,  through  the  catalogue  of  railroads  (not  very  volu- 
minous at  that  early  day)  •  but  none  of  these  are  correct. 
True  it  is,  that  several  companies,  even  at  an  early  day, 
had  locomotives  constructed  for  their  use,  and  put  them 
in  practical  service  upon  their  several  roads,  those  very 
roads  just  alluded  to,  but  not,  however,  until  the  experi- 


14  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA. 

ment  Had  been  tried  and  successfully  inaugurated  and 
reduced  to  a  fixed  fact  in  another  quarter.  Therefore, 
the  honor  of  being  the  pioneer  in  having  the  first 
American  locomotive  constructed  and  put  in  actual  ser- 
vice in  the  United  States  belongs  elsewhere,  as  we  are 
prepared  to  substantiate  as  we  progress  in  our  present 
work.  If,  however,  in  doing  this,  we  should  be  com- 
pelled to  descend  too  much  into  minutiae,  so  as  to  bring 
upon  us  the  charge  of  egotism  from  our  readers,  we  will 
claim  their  forbearance  in  our  anxiety  to  leave  no  stone 
unturned,  to  withhold  no  facts,  and  to  bring  to  our  aid 
every  item,  however  trifling  it  may  appear,  to  establish 
the  truth.  In  recording  the  facts  contained  in  this 
history,  therefore,  the  author  will  accompany  each  posi- 
tion he  may  assume  with  all  the  evidence  upon  which 
his  information  is  based.  These  authorities  are  from 
the  statements  of  living  witnesses,  who  are  at  this  day 
(though  far  advanced  in  years)  endowed  with  all  the 
vigor  of  mind  which  characterized  them  in  the  early 
period  of  their  lives,  and  are  now  enjoying  an  enviable 
share  of  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  their  fellow-citi- 
zens. 

The  names  of  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  Horatio  Allen, 
Esq.,  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe,  Esq.,  Ross  Winans,  Esq., 
and  Peter  Cooper,  Esq.,  are  well  known  and  familiar 
to  our  railroad  communities,  as  identified  in  the  early 
days  with  railroad  enterprise  in  America.  To  those 
of  our  readers,  however,  who  may  not  be  acquainted 
with  the  character  and  reputation  of  these  accomplished 
engineers  and  gentlemen,  we  will  briefly  state  that 
John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  for  many  years  a  resident  of  B-ome, 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  is  one  of  the  oldest  (being 
now  nearly  seventy-five  years  of  age)  and  most  skilful 
engineers  of  the  period  of  which  we  write.     He  was 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

the  chief  engineer  of  the  railroad  that  imported  from 
England  the  first  locomotive  which  turned  a  driving- 
wheel  upon  the  American  Continent.  He  has  been 
engaged  upon  some  of  the  most  important  works  of 
improvement  in  our  country,  and  his  reputation  as  an 
accomplished  engineer  is  widely  known,  not  only  in 
this  country,  "but  in  Europe.  Among  the  most  impor- 
tant public  works  upon  which  Mr.  Jervis  was  employed 
as  chief  engineer,  we  enumerate  the  Delaware  and  Hud- 
son Canal  and  Eailroad;  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson 
Railroad ;  the  Saratoga  and  Schenectady  Railroad ;  the 
Chenango  Canal  of  New  York ;  the  Eastern  Division 
of  the  Erie-Canal  enlargement ;  the  Croton  Aqueduct ; 
the  Hudson  River  Railroad;  the  Michigan  Southern 
and  Northern  Indiana  Railroad ;  and  the  Pittsburg  and 
Chicago  Railroad.  He  was  president  of  the  Chicago  and 
Rock  Island  Railroad,  and  consulting  engineer  of  the 
Boston  Water-works,  and  other  important  improve- 
ments. Mr.  Jervis  was  also  the  inventor  of  the  plan  of 
having  the  truck  under  the  front  part  of  the  locomotive, 
to  assist  in  sustaining  the  weight  of  the  boiler,  and  in  giv- 
ing direction  to  the  machine  in  running  upon  curves,  a 
plan  now  universally  adopted,  and  found  to  be  indispen- 
sably necessary  in  engines  of  eight  or  more  wheels,  and 
especially  upon  the  short-curved  railroads  of  America. 
Mr.  Jervis  is  still  living  at  Rome,  New  York,  in  the  full 
possession  of  his  vigor  of  mind,  and  we  trust  he  may 
live  for  many  years,  to  enjoy  the  reputation  he  has  so 
richly  earned  by  his  valuable  services  to  the  railroad 
enterprise  of  America. 

Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  is  another  eminent  engineer  of 
America,  and  his  evidence  contributes  much  valuable 
information  to  our  history,  which  our  readers  will  see 
from  his  various  communications  to  the  author. 


16  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

Mr.  Allen  graduated  at  Columbia  College,  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  in  1823,  commenced  his  professional 
life  in  1824,  as  civil  engineer  with  Benjamin  "Wright  on 
the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Canal.  In  1825  he  was 
engaged  on  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  as  resi- 
dent engineer  under  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  chief  engineer, 
in  1827  resigned  his  connection  with  the  Delaware  and 
Hudson  Canal,  in  order  to  visit  England  in  search  of 
professional  information  on  railroad  matters,  that  new 
era  in  intercommunication  and  transportation  being  then 
in  process  of  development.  During  his  visit  to  Eng- 
land, he  was  requested  to  take  charge  of  the  contract 
for  the  iron  for  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal 
Company's  coal-road,  and  also  for  three  locomotives, 
being  the  first  ever  ordered  and  brought  to  this  coun- 
try. On  his  return,  in  1829,  Mr.  Allen  had  charge  of 
the  fitting  up  and  putting  in  operation  the  first  locomo- 
tive, "  the  Stourbridge  Lion,"  ever  put  on  a  railroad  in 
this  country,  and  alone  he  stood  upon  its  platform  on 
the  first  experimental  trip,  and  his  hand  opened  the 
throttle-valve  upon  the  engine  that  turned  the  first 
driving-wheel  in  America. 

In  1829  Mr.  Allen  was  engaged  as  chief  engineer 
on  the  South  Carolina  Railroad,  running  from  Charles- 
ton to  Augusta,  Georgia,  136  miles.  On  this  road  was 
put  the  first  one  hundred  miles  of  iron  in  one  continuous 
line  in  the  world.  Another  fact  in  connection  with 
this  road,  and  to  the  credit  of  Mr.  Allen,  is  of  interest : 
the  road  was  built  within  the  estimate  of  its  cost. 

In  1834  Mr.  Allen  went  abroad,  and  was  in  Egypt 
nearly  three  years.  On  returning,  in  1837,  he  was  en- 
gaged as  principal  assistant  engineer  on  the  Croton 
Aqueduct,  under  John  B.  Jervis,  the  chief  engineer.  On 
completion  of  the  aqueduct,  Mr.  Allen  was  one  of,  the 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

Croton  Aqueduct  commissioners,  and  its  engineer  for 
the  introduction  and  distribution  of  the  water.  In 
1842  Mr.  Allen  became  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
Novelty  Iron  Works  in  New  York.  In  this  establish- 
ment he  continued  as  one  of  its  managers  and  presi- 
dent until  1870,  when  the  works  were  closed.  Prior  to 
Mr.  Allen's  connection  with  the  Novelty  Works,  he  was 
president  of  the  New  York  and  Erie  Kailroad,  and  was 
consulting  engineer  of  the  road  at  the  period  of  its 
opening  in  1845.  In  1870  Mr.  Allen  became  consult- 
ing engineer  of  the  East  River  Bridge,  now  in  course  of 
construction,  and  which  when  completed  will  be  looked 
upon  as  a  wonder  of  the  age.  Of  this  great  work 
Washington  A.  Roebling,  Esq.,  is  chief  engineer. 

To  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe,  Esq.,  we  are  also  largely 
indebted  for  the  early  history  of  the  locomotive  enter- 
prise upon  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Kailroad ;  for  the 
drawing  and  full  description  of  the  sailing-car,  invented 
by  Mr.  Thomas;  and  for  the  drawing  of  the  little 
experimental  machine,  built  to  demonstrate  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  practicability  of  locomotives  upon  short 
curves,  and  the  subsequent  results  from  them. 

Mr.  Latrobe  has  constantly  been  in  active  employ- 
ment upon  some  important  public  work  in  its  engineer 
department.  Among  which  we  name  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad.  In  the  service  of  this  company  he 
entered  in  1830  as  a  member  of  the  corps  of  engineers. 
In  1842  he  was  appointed  chief  engineer,  and  continued 
in  that  position  until  1857.  Since  that  time  he  has 
rendered  the  road  much  valuable  assistance  as  consult- 
ing engineer.  As  chief  engineer,  Mr.  Latrobe  located 
and  built  the  railroad  from  Baltimore  to  Havre  de 
Grace,  as  a  part  of  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and 
Baltimore  Railroad,  in  1835-37,  and  the  Northwestern 


18  HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

Virginia  Railroad  from  Grafton  to  Parkersburg  (103 
miles),  from  1853-57.  He  has  been  consulting  engineer 
on  several  or  on  special  occasions  to  a  number  of  rail- 
way works ;  the  most  important  were :  the  Hoosac  Tun- 
nel, Massachusetts  ;  the  Philadelphia,  "Wilmington  and 
Baltimore  Railroad  (which  office  he  now  holds) ;  the 
North  Missouri  Railroad ;  the  Blue  Ridge  Railroad,  in 
South  Carolina ;  the  East  River  Bridge ;  the  Portland 
and  Ogdensburg  Railroad ;  the  Hillsborough  and  Par- 
kersburg  Railroad;  and  the  Columbus  and  Hocking 
Valley  Railroad. 

Mr.  Latrobe  is  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Jones  Falls 
Improvement  in  the  city  of  Baltimore ;  and  is  now  com- 
pleting the  Pittsburg  and  Connellsville  Railroad,  from 
Pittsburg  to  Cumberland. 

We  will  also  quote  freely  from  the  letters  of  Mr. 
David  Matthew  to  the  author  in  1859,  and  we  will 
give  in  our  work  several  certificates  in  reference  to  Mr. 
Matthew's  character  and  ability  as  an  engineer,  and  a 
reliable  man.  Mr.  Matthew  superintended  the  men 
fitting  up  the  first  English  locomotive  imported  into 
this  country,  and  he  also  had  charge  of  the  workmen 
fitting  up  the  first,  second,  and  third  locomotives 
built  in  America — the  last  of  which,  after  placing  it 
upon  the  road,  he  continued  to  run  as  the  regular  en- 
gineer for  a  long  time ;  and  his  testimony  is  entitled  to 
all  credit. 

To  Julius  D.  Petsch,  Esq.,  who  was  for  many  years 
the  chief  of  the  mechanical  department  upon  the  rail- 
road upon  which  the  first  American-built  locomotive 
for  actual  service  was  run,  we  are  indebted  for  many 
valuable  particulars  concerning  that  event. 

To  several  other  prominent  and  well-known  gentle- 
men, whose  letters  and  testimony  will  be  found  in  the 


EARLY  RAILROADS.  19 

course  of  our  narrative,  wc  are  indebted,  and  under 
great  and  lasting  obligations. 

Prominent  among  those  private  citizens  is  Mr. 
Peter  Cooper,  of  New- York  City,  a  gentleman  well 
known  throughout  our  country  as  one  of  the  warmest 
friends  and  advocates  for  the  intellectual  improvement 
of  the  mechanical  and  laboring  classes  of  our  com- 
munity. Mr.  Cooper,  as  we  will  show  in  the  progress 
of  our  work,  was  the  pioneer,  the  very  first  to  experi- 
ment upon  the  practicability  of  the  locomotive  system 
in  this  country.  We  will  show  that  he  stepped  out 
from  the  desk  of  his  mercantile  office  to  become  the 
first  locomotive-builder  in  this  country,  and  his  success 
and  efforts  will  be  fully  recorded  as  we  progress  in 
our  work. 

The  original  letters  from  these  sources  (in  reply  to 
the  author's  numerous  inquiries  for  information)  will 
prove  deeply  interesting  to  the  reader,  and  richly  repay 
the  labor  of  their  perusal,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
they  will  fill  up  the  chain  of  evidence,  as  it  were,  and 
point  out  the  sources  from  which  the  author  has  gained 
the  desired  information  for  his  work,  and  will  be  given 
in  their  proper  places,  word  for  word,  as  they  were  re- 
ceived. 


CHAPTER  II. 


EARLY     RAILROAD, 


Many  persons,  otherwise  well-informed  upon  general 
topics,  believe  that  railroads  were  constructed  especially 
for  locomotives,  as  the  best-adapted  road  for  the  accom- 
modation of  that  peculiar  machine  and  its  train  of  cars. 


20  HISTORY  OP  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

They  never  call  to  mind  that  a  locomotive  is  a  modern 
invention,  and,  for  want  of  access  to  works  such  as  we 
have  referred  to,  they  are  not  informed  that  a  railroad 
is  an  ancient  institution  (if  we  may  apply  such  a  term 
to  such  a  subject).  They  never  have  dreamed  nor  ever 
imagined  that  this  peculiar  kind  of  road  was  invented 
and  in  use  several  centuries  ago,  but,  like  the  great 
auxiliary,  the  locomotive,  was  very  defective  and  sim- 
ple in  its  primitive  state,  and  since  that  time,  like  the 
latter,  has  been  subject  to  vast  and  continued  improve- 
ments. 

Before,  however,  we  enter  upon  the  subject  for 
which  these  pages  were  designed — "'the  history  of  the 
first  locomotives  in  America " — it  will  not,  we  trust, 
be  deemed  inappropriate  here  to  devote  a  small  space 
in  our  work  in  describing  the  peculiar  kind  of  road 
upon  which  the  locomotive  travels,  now  known  uni- 
versally as  the  railroad ;  and  to  such  information  as  we 
have  gathered  of  its  origin  and  early  progress. 

Various  devices  have  been  employed,  from  the  period 
when  wheel-carriages  were  first  used,  for  facilitating  the 
movement  over  the  ground  in  transportation.  These 
devices,  however,  were  mostly  limited  to  the  smoothing, 
levelling,  and  hardening  the  surface  of  the  way.  The 
early  Egyptians,  in  transporting  the  immense  stones 
they  used  in  the  erection  of  the  vast  pyramids  from  the 
quarries,  learned  the  advantage  of  hard,  smooth,  and 
solid  track-ways,  and  the  remains  of  such,  formed  of 
large  blocks  of  stone,  are  said  to  have  been  found  on 
the  line  of  the  great  road  they  constructed  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

The  ancient  Eomans  made  also  some  approach  to 
the  invention  of  railroads,  in  the  celebrated  Appian 
Way.     This  was  constructed  of  blocks  of  stone  fitted 


EARLY   RAILROADS.  21 

closely  together,  the  surface  presenting  a  smooth  and 
hard  track  for  the  wheels.  In  modern  times  such  tracks 
or  roadways  were  constructed  in  several  European 
cities — London,  Pisa,  Milan,  and  many  others. 

The  first  instance  on  record  of  rails  being  used  on 
highways  was  as  early  as  the  year  1630,  over  two  and 
a  quarter  centuries  ago.  They  were  invented  by  a 
person  named  Beaumont,  and  built  and  used  for  the 
transportation  of  coal  from  the  mines  near  New- 
castle,  in   England. 

Old  Roger  North  alludes  to  railways  as  being  in 
use  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  river  Tyne  in  the  year 
1676,  and  he  thus  describes  them:  The  rails  of  timber 
were  placed  end  to  end  and  exactly  straight,  and  in 
two  lines  parallel  to  each  other.  On  these  bulky  carts 
were  made  to  run  on  four  rollers  fitting  these  rails, 
whereby  the  carriage  was  made  so  easy  that  one  horse 
would  draw  four  or  five  chaldrons  of  coal  at  a  load. 

"We  read  of  railways  existing  in  Scotland  in  1745,  at 
the  time  of  the  Scotch  rebellion.  These  railways  were 
laid  down  between  the  Tranent  coal-mines  and  the 
harbor  of  Cockenzie,  in  East  Lothian.  Improvements 
were  made  on  these  roads  and  continued  until  1765, 
when  they  began  to  assume  the  forms  of  our  present 
roads,  even  to  the  use  of  flanges  upon  the  wheels; 
but  up  to  this  period  no  iron  surface  was  ever  heard  of. 
The  mode  of  constructing  a  railroad  at  that  period  was 
as  follows :  After  the  surface  was  brought  to  as  perfect 
a  level  as  possible — or  incline,  as  the  case  might  be 
— square  blocks  of  wood,  called  sleepers,  about  six  feet 
long,  were  laid  two  or  three  feet  apart  across  the  track ; 
upon  these  two  long  strips  of  wood,  six  or  seven  inches 
wide  and  about  five  inches  deep,  were  fastened  by  pins 
to  the  sleepers,  and  parallel  to  each  other,  but  about 


22  HISTORY  OP  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

four  feet  apart.  Upon  this  wooden  rail  was  spiked  a 
projecting  round  moulding  of  wood,  and  the  wheels 
were  hollowed  out  like  a  pulley  to  fit  upon  the  round 
surface  of  the  wooden  moulding  upon  the  rails. 

The  first  iron  rails  that  we  find  any  written  account 
of  were  used  at  Whitehaven.  They  were  cast-iron 
mouldings,  similar  in  shape  to  the  wooden  moulding  just 
described,  and,  like  them,  they  were  spiked  down  upon 
the  wooden  rail  to  receive  the  weight  and  pressure  of 
the  hollowed-out  wheel,  which,  pressing  entirely  upon 
the  moulding  of  wood,  soon  rendered  it  unfit  for  use. 
This  iron  substitute  was  a  wonderful  saving  in  this 
respect. 

Thirty  years  after,  in  1767,  five  or  six  tons  of  the 
same  description  of  rails  were  cast  at  the  Coalbrook 
Dale  Ironworks,  at  Shroj)shire.  St.  Froud,  a  French 
traveller,  describes  these  roads  as  being  far  superior  to 
all  other  kinds  of  roads ;  that  one  horse,  with  perfect 
ease,  could  draw  a  wagon  loaded  with  five  or  six  hun- 
dred bushels  of  coal. 

In  1776,  the  first  iron  rails  we  have  any  written  ac- 
count of  were  cast  with  a  perpendicular  ledge  upon 
the  outer  side,  in  order  to  keep  the  wheels  from  run- 
ning off  the  track,  and  after  a  while  the  ledge  was 
changed  to  the  inner  side  of  the  rail. 

A  railway  of  this  kind  was  laid  down  at  the  Duke 
of  Norfolk's  colliery,  near  Sheffield.  The  road  was  torn 
up  and  destroyed  by  the  laboring  men  of  the  colliery 
in  a  riot,  and  Mr.  Curr,  its  builder  and  projector,  had 
to  save  his  life  by  flight,  and  concealed  himself  in  a 
wood  three  days  and  nights  to  escape  the  fury  of  the 
excited  rioters. 

Objections  were  soon  discovered  in  rails  with  flanges 
either  on  the  outside  or  inside,  from  their  liability  to 


EAELY  BAILROADS.  23 

obstruction  by  stones  or  dirt,  which  would  impede  the 
progress  and  endanger  the  safety  of  the  carriages. 

A  great  step  in  advance  was  made  in  1789,  by  Wil- 
liam Jessop,  in  the  construction  of  a  railway  in  Lough- 
borough, in  Leicestershire,  with  the  first  cast-iron  edge 
rail,  with  flanges  cast  upon  the  wheels,  instead  of  upon 
the  rail,  as  had  been  done  a  short  time  before. 

In  1800,  Mr.  Benjamin  Outram,  of  Little  Eaton,  in 
Derbyshire,  introduced  stone  props,  instead  of  timber, 
for  supporting  the  ends  or  joinings  of  the  rails.  Tak- 
ing the  name  from  the  projector,  this  kind  of  road  was 
distinguished  as  the  Outram  road,  and  since  that  time, 
for  brevity,  all  roads  of  this  kind  are  called  Tram- 
roads  ;  as  this  plan  was  afterward  applied  to  wooden 
roads,  where  long  stringers  were  used,  with  the  iron 
moulding  as  before  described,  and  in  our  time  the  flat 
iron  bar  nailed  upon  the  stringers,  these  roads  are  all 
familiarly  known  as  Tram-roads. 

Edge  rails,  as  made  by  Jessop,  were  laid  down  in 
1801,  at  the  slate-quarry  of  Lord  Penrhyn.  The  tire 
of  the  wheel  was  hollowed  out  to  fit  the  projecting 
curve  of  the  edged  rail,  but  as  the  fit  became  soon  too 
tight  by  wear,  it  was  afterwards  changed  to  a  flat  sur- 
face and  rim  of  the  wheel,  and  a  flange  around  each 
edge  of  it.  So  great  was  this  last  improvement,  that  it 
was  found  that  ten  horses  would  do  the  work  that  had 
employed  four  hundred  to  do  upon  common  roads. 

Edge  rails  were  soon  after  introduced  at  the  col- 
lieries in  England.  They  were  made  thin  at  the  base 
and  spread  in  thickness  at  the  top.  These  rails,  intro- 
duced in  1808,  continued  in  use  until  1820,  when  the 
machinery  was  invented  for  rolling  iron  into  suitable 
shapes  for  rails.  This  was  a  great  improvement,  for,  as 
cast-iron  rails  could  only  be  made  three  or  four  feet 


24  HISTORY  OF   THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

long,  requiring  frequent  joints,  the  material  was  more 
liable  and  subject  to  break,  especially  with  heavy 
weights  passing  over  it. 

Up  to  this  time  the  motive  power  was  the  horse. 
Many  projects  and  schemes  were  talked  of  and  proposed 
for  propelling  the  wagons.  Sails  were  suggested,  and 
various  other  means  were  experimented  upon,  and 
speedily  abandoned,  but  steam  was  the  most  favored, 
yet  how  to  apply  it  was  to  be  found  out. 


CHAPTER   III. 

FIRST    HEAD     OF     STEAM. 

It  is  recorded,  130  years  before  the  Christian  era, 
that  the  elder  Hero  of  Alexandria  is  the  first  author 
who  gives  an  account  of  the  application  of  the  vapor 
of  boiling  water  as  a  power.  Hero  expressly  ascribes 
the  sounds  produced  by  the  statue  of  Memnon  to  steam 
generated  in  the  pedestal  and  issuing  from  its  mouth. 
Champollion,  who  is  the  highest  authority  on  this 
point,  declares  that  the  Memnon  of  the  Greeks  is  iden- 
tical with  Prince  Amenophis  II,  one  of  the  Egyptians 
who  reigned  at  Thebes,  1,600  years  before  Christ. 
Therefore,  if  Hero's  surmises  of  the  Statue  of  Memnon 
are  correct,  we  have  an  application  of  steam  before  the 
date  of  the  exodus  of  the  Israelites.  Hero  himself 
constructed  a  toy,  one  that  would  raise  water  like  a 
fountain,  keep  a  ball  in  equilibrium,  and  another  giv- 
ing a  rotary  motion  to  a  ball ;  but  he  does  not  give  the 
slightest  hint  that  his  invention  or  discovery  could  be 


FIRST   HEAD   OF  STEAM.  25 

made  capable  of  any  useful  application,  nor  did  he 
imagine  that  he  possessed  a  knowledge  of  a  power  that 
was  in  future  ages  to  produce  such  important  results. 

A  knowledge  of  some  of  the  properties  of  steam 
seems  to  have  been  understood  during  the  nourishing 
periods  and  even  to  the  decline  of  the  Roman  empire. 
In  the  reign  of  Justinian,  the  architect  Artemius,  of 
that  empire,  gave  some  experiments  to  demonstrate  the> 
power  of  steam  or  vapor  of  boiling  water.  He  arranged 
several  vessels  containing  water,  each  covered  with  the 
wide  bottom  of  a  tube,  which  rose  to  a  narrower  top, 
with  pipes  extending  to  the  rafters  of  an  adjoining 
house.  When  fire  was  kindled  beneath  the  vessels,  the 
rafters  were  raised  from  their  positions,  and  the  house 
shaken  by  the  force  of  the  steam  ascending  the  tubes. 

Cardan  is  the  earliest  modern  author  in  whom  we 
detect  any  hint  of  a  knowledge  of  the  mechanical  power 
of  steam.  He  gives  a  description  of  the  eolipile,  in  a 
work  dated  1571.  The  instrument  showed  how  a  cur- 
rent of  air  was  made  to  follow  the  course  of  the  steam 
that  issued  from  the  neck  of  the  eolipile.  Modern 
writers  speak  of  various  others  who  seemed  to  have 
ideas  of  the  mechanical  power  of  steam.  The  most 
worthy  of  notice  are  Baptista  Porta,  a  Neapolitan, 
Brancas,  a  Frenchman,  and  De  Coss.  Brancas  proposed 
to  direct  the' current  of  air  issuing  from  an  eolipile  upon 
the  leaves  of  a  wheel  which,  being  set  in  motion,  might 
serve  to  move  machinery.  This  method  was  imperfect 
and  wasteful,  yet  its  attempt  is  deserving  of  praise, 
inasmuch  as  he  is  the  first  person  who  entertained  a 
hope  of  realizing  the  vast  benefits  that  steam  has  since 
conferred  upon  the  world. 

One  Marion  de  Lorme,  in  a  letter  to  the  Marquis 
de-cinq  Mars,  in  1641,  describes  his  visit  to  the  mad- 


26  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

house,  called  the  Bicetre,  at  Paris,  in  which  he  saw, 
confined  in  a  cell,  a  poor  creature  named  Solomon  de 
Cause,  who  seemed  to  be  one  of  the  first  to  conceive 
the  idea,  in  1615,  of  employing  the  steam  or  vapor 
of  boiling  water  as  a  power  by  which  both  carriages 
on  land  and  ships  at  sea  could  be  propelled.  Accom- 
panying De  Lorme  in  this  visit  to  the  mad-house,  was 
the  Marquis  of  Worcester.  After  relating  many  curious 
cases  of  madness,  De  Lorme  writes  that  they  saw  a  man 
named  Solomon  de  Cause,  looking  through  the  bars  of 
his  cell.  On  seeing  that  he  was  noticed,  Solomon  ex- 
claimed in  a  hoarse  and  melancholy  voice :  "lam  not 
mad  !  I  am  not  mad !  But  I  have  made  a  discovery 
that  would  enrich  the  country  which  would  adopt  it ; 
but  I  am  not  mad !  I  am  not  mad ! "  "  What  has  he  dis- 
covered ? "  asked  De  Lorme  of  the  guide.  "  Oh,"  replied 
the  keeper,  "  something  trifling  enough,  of  course.  The 
poor  creature  says  that  he  has  discovered  a  wonderful 
power  in  the  use  of  steam  from  boiling  water.  He 
came  from  Normandy,  about  four  years  ago,  to  present 
to  the  king  a  statement  of  the  wonderful  effects  that 
might  be  produced  from  his  invention.  The  cardinal 
sent  him  away  without  listening  to  him.  Solomon 
persisted,  and  followed  the  cardinal  wherever  he  went, 
and  finally  so  annoyed  him  with  his  discovery,  that  he 
had  him  shut  up  in  the  Bicetre,  as  a  madman." 

Of  all  those  who  attempted  to  apply  steam  to  use- 
ful purposes,  the  Marquis  of  Worcester  fills  the  greatest 
space.  His  ideas  of  steam,  and  its  applications,  are  to 
be  found  in  a  work  called  the  "  Century  of  Inventions," 
originally  published  in  London,  in  1663.  The  marquis, 
it  is  said,  employed  a  mechanic  thirty-five  years  to 
make  models  of  machines  for  the  power  of  steam. 
Many  of  these  ideas  appeared  at  the  time  absolutely 


B06TGN  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNOT  HILL,  MASS. 


FIRST   HEAD   OF  STEAM.  2? 


impossible,  yet  they  have  "been  realized  by  modern  in- 
ventors. In  all  his  projects,  the  expansive  power  of 
steam  alone  was  used. 

That  the  steam-engine  was  not  a  mere  theory  in  the 
conception  of  Worcester,  but  was  actually  put  into  opera- 
tion, a  recent  discovery  has  settled  upon  positive  testi- 
mony. The  Grand-duke  of  Tuscany,  Cosmo  de  Medicis, 
travelled  in  England  in  1656.  The  manuscript  of  his 
travels  remained  unpublished  until  1818.  The  follow- 
ing is  an  extract :  "  His  highness,"  that  he  might  not 
lose  the  day  uselessly,  "  went  again,  after  dinner,  to  the 
other  side  of  the  city,  as  far  as  Vauxhall,  to  see  a 
machine,  invented  by  my  Lord  Somerset,  Marquis  of 
Worcester.  It  raises  water  more  than  forty  geometrical 
feet,  by  the  power  of  one  man  only."  Here,  then,  is  a 
description  of  an  engine  in  actual  operation. 

In  all  these  projects  the  expansive  power  of  steam 
was  alone  used ;  the  steam  was  made  to  act  directly  upon 
the  surface  of  the  water ;  in  this  way  the  use  of  high 
steam  is  essential  to  success,  and  upon  a  large  scale  was 
attended  with  danger  in  the  low  state  of  the  mechanic 
arts  in  those  days,  and  various  contrivances  and  im- 
provements were  introduced  as  in  modern  times.  Con- 
sequently their  necessity  became  visible,  and  as  early  as 
in  1680  the  safety-valve,  which  has  since  been  of  such 
importance  in  the  construction  of  steam-engines,  was 
invented  by  Denys  Pepin,  a  French  Protestant.  It  was 
made  in  the  following  manner :  A  conical  aperture  was 
made  in  the  lid  or  top  of  the  boiler,  and  to  this  was  fit- 
ted a  conical  stopper,  pressed  into  the  aperture  by  a 
weight  suspended  at  the  end  of  a  lever.  It  was  iden- 
tical with  the  most  usual  form  of  safety-valves  at  the 
present  day. 

It  has  often  been  written  that  the  power  of  steam 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

was  first  discovered  by  the  Marquis  of  Worcester,  from 
observing  the  motion  of  the  lid  of  a  tea-kettle  of  boil- 
ing water.  It  may  be  so,  but  we  are  more  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  marquis  got  his  first  idea  of  the  power 
of  steam  at  the  time  of  his  visit  to  the  Bicetre  with 
Marion  de  Lorme,  when  he  saw  poor  Solomon,  and  heard 
from  his  keeper  the  cause  of  his  malady ;  then  experi- 
mented and  improved  upon  the  hint.  It  does  seem  far 
more  likely  that  this  poor  madman,  as  he  was  consid- 
ered, and  who  it  must  appear  had  neither  means  nor 
friends  to  get  him  released  from  this  thraldom,  would 
be  the  one  to  observe  the  effects  of  the  steam  upon  the 
lid  of  a  tea-kettle  than  a  proud  English  marquis.  This, 
however,  we  will  leave  for  some  one  else  to  determine, 
and  resume  our  subject,  although  we  cannot  doubt 
our  readers  will  excuse  this  digression. 

The  motion  of  a  piston  in  a  cylinder  suggested  itself 
to  Pepin,  first  of  all,  as  a  method  of  adapting  the  ex- 
pansive power  of  steam  to  produce  mechanical  effects. 

The  history  of  steam,  applied  to  purposes  of  ac- 
knowledged utility,  commences  with  one  Savary,  a 
Cornish  miner,  who  in  1718  proposed  the  use  of  it  to 
free  the  mines  from  water;  for  as  early  as  1710  New- 
comen  and  Cawley  had  completed  the  first  steam-engine 
in  England,  a  patent  for  which  had  been  issued  in  1705. 

Pepin  constructed  an  engine  for  the  Elector  of  Hesse 
in  1707.  Savary's  engine  was  confined  to  a  single  ob- 
ject, that  of  raising  the  water  from  the  mines ;  and  even 
this  was  done  at  a  great  disadvantage,  from  the  imper- 
fection of  the  principle,  and  the  make-up  of  the  machine ; 
yet  it  was  important  as  a  step  to  the  construction  of 
more  perfect  machines,  and  even  it  was  itself  of  some 
value  when  compared  with  the  methods  of  freeing  the 
mines  from  water  which  were  at  that  period  in  use. 


FIRST  STEAMBOATS.  29 

In  1759,  over  a  century  ago,  the  subject  of  steam 
was  first  introduced  to  the  mind  of  James  Watt,  and 
his  first  engine  was  made  soon  after,  or  in  1769.  He 
was  assisted  by  Dr.  Robinson. 

At  a  very  early  period  the  same  Savary,  before  men- 
tioned, proposed  steam  as  a  means  of  propelling  car- 
riages, but  made  no  practical  experiments. 

The  same  James  Watt  in  1784  describes  an  engine 
for  propelling  carriages  on  common  roads,  but,  being  too 
much  occupied  in  perfecting  his  condensing  engine, 
nothing  further  was  done  by  him  toward  constructing 
this  locomotive. 

Steam-engines,  imperfect  as  they  were  at  that  early 
period,  appear  to  have  been  directed  first  to  the  pro- 
pelling of  boats  upon  the  water  rather  than  carriages  j 
upon  the  land. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

FIKST   STEAMBOATS. 

Woecestee,  in  his  "  Century  of  Inventions,"  speaks 
of  the  capacity  for  rowing  of  his  engine,  used  in  raising 
water. 

Savary  proposed  to  make  the  water  raised  by  his 
engine  turn  a  water-wheel  within  his  vessel,  which 
should  carry  paddle-wheels  acting  on  the  outside ;  and 
Watt,  as  we  are  well  assured,  stated  in  conversation 
that,  had  he  not  been  prevented  by  the  pressure  of 
other  business,  he  would  have  made  a  steamboat. 

In  truth,  before  the  time  of  Watt's  improvement  in 
his  steam-engine,  no  modification  by  which  steam  was 


30  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

applied  to  useful  purposes,  as  raising  water,  would 
have  been  able  to  propel  vessels  successfully.  This  is 
exemplified  by  evidences  found  recently  in  an  ancient 
record,  in  which  we  have  a  description  of  a  vessel  pro- 
pelled by  steam.  Blasco  de  Garay,  an  officer  in  the 
service  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  made,  at  Barcelona, 
in  Spain,  in  the  year  1543,  an  experiment  in  a  vessel, 
which  he  forced  through  the  water  by  apparatus,  of 
which  a  large  kettle  with  boiling  water  formed  a  con- 
spicuous part. 

De  Garay  was,  therefore,  not  only  the  first  inventor 
of  a  steamboat,  but  the  first  (not  even  excepting  Savary) 
who  was  successful  in  applying  steam  to  useful  pur- 
poses. De  Garay,  however,  was  too  far  in  advance  of 
the  spirit  of  the  age  to  be  able  to  introduce  his  inven- 
tion into  practice.  His  machinery  was  imperfect,  and 
the  recollection  of  his  experiment  would  have  been  lost 
had  not  the  record  been  accidentally  found  among  the 
ancient  archives  of  the  province  of  Catalonia. 

This  experiment  was,  therefore,  without  any  prac- 
tical result,  and  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  piece  of  curi- 
ous antiquarian  research  rather  than  as  an  event  filling 
a  space  in  the  history  of  steamboats. 

Among  the  early  prime  movers  in  seeking  for  the 
means  of  applying  steam  to  vessels,  we  will  name  Gene- 
vois  and  the  Comte  d'Auxiron.  The  first  of  these, 
whose  attempts  date  as  early  as  1759,  is  chiefly  remark- 
able for  the  peculiarity  of  his  apparatus,  which  resem- 
bled the  feet  of  a  duck,  opening  when  moved  through 
the  water  in  the  act  of  propulsion,  and  closing  on  its 
return. 

The  latter,  D'Auxiron,  also  made  an  experiment  in 
1774,  but  his  boat  moved  so  slowly  and  irregularly 
that  it  was  at  once  abandoned. 


FIRST   STEAMBOATS.  31 

In  1775  the  elder  Perrier,  who  afterward  intro- 
duced the  manufacturing  of  steam-engines  into  France, 
made  an  attempt  in  a  steamboat,  but  was  unsuc- 
cessful. 

The  Marquis  de  Jouflroy  continued  the  pursuit  of 
the  same  object.  His  first  attempt  was  made  in  1778, 
at  Baume  les  Dames,  and  in  1781  he  built  upon  the 
Saone  a  steam-vessel  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long 
and  fifteen  feet  wide.  The  report  of  his  experiment 
was  made  to  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  was 
said  to  be  favorable. 

No  successful  experiment  could  be  looked  for  until 
"Watt  made  public  his  double-acting  engine,  and  the 
improvements  made  in  1784  to  keep  up  a  continuous 
and  regular  rotary  motion.  To  America,  then,  we  are 
now  to  look  for  the  first  successful  steamboat. 

Conspicuous  in  the  list  of  early  experimenters  in 
steamboats  are  the  names  of  Eumsey  and  Fitch.  Both 
constructed  boats  propelled  by  steam  as  early  as  1783, 
and  models  were  exhibited  to  General  Washington. 

Fitch  was  the  first  to  try  his  plan,  and  in  1785  he 
succeeded  in  moving  a  boat  upon  the  Delaware ;  and  it 
was  not  until  1786  that  Eumsey  got  his  boat  in  motion 
on  the  Potomac.  Fitch's  plan  was  a  system  of  paddles. 
Bumsey  at  first  used  a  kind  of  pump,  which  drew  in 
water  at  the  bow  and  forced  it  out  at  the  stern  of  his 
boat.  He  soon  abandoned  this  plan  of  the  pump,  and 
employed  poles  set  in  motion  by  cranks  on  the  axis  of 
the  fly-wheel  of  his  engine,  and  intended  to  press  against 
the  bottom  of  the  river.  Fitch's  boat  was  propelled 
through  the  water  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour. 
Bumsey's  invention  never  came  to  any  valuable  results. 

Next,  after  Fitch  and  Bumsey,  came  an  ingenious 
gentleman  named  Miller,  of  Dolswinton,  in  Scotland, 


32  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN   AMERICA. 

who,  in  1787,  made  a  substitute  for  oars,  and  applied 
wheels  worked  by  men  upon  a  crank ;  afterward  steam 
was  substituted  by  an  engineer  named  Symington. 

This  boat  was  a  double  pleasure-boat  upon  a  lake 
in  his  grounds  at  Dolswinton.  The  trial  was  so  success- 
ful that  Miller  built  a  boat  sixty  feet  long,  and  it  is  said 
that  it  moved  upon  the  Forth  and  Clyde  Canal  at  the 
rate  of  seven  miles  an  hour ;  but  the  vessel  suffered  so 
much  by  the  strain  of  the  machinery  that  it  soon  be- 
came unsafe  and  in  danger  of  sinking,  and  was  set  aside, 
and  Mr.  Miller's  experiments  were  never  resumed. 

John  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  next  experimented  in 
steam-vessels,  in  1791.  His  first  attempt  was  made  in 
a  boat  with  a  rotary  engine,  but  he  soon  substituted  one 
of  Watt's  machines,  and  navigated  his  vessel  five  or  six 
miles  an  hour.  These  experiments  were  continued  up 
to  1807,  much  to  the  detriment  of  his  fortune. 

The  project  of  Gerrevois  was  revived  in  England 
about  this  time  by  the  Earl  of  Stanhope.  An  apparatus 
like  the  feet  of  a  duck  was  placed  in  a  boat,  and  with 
a  powerful  machine,  but  never  gained  a  velocity  over 
three  miles  an  hour. 

In  1797,  Chancellor  Livingston,  of  New  York,  built 
a  steamboat  on  the  Hudson  River.  He  obtained  from 
the  Legislature  the  right  and  exclusive  privilege,  on 
condition  that  he  would  provide,  within  a  year,  a 
boat  impelled  by  steam  that  would  go  three  miles  an 
hour.  This  he  did  not  effect.  In  the  year  1800  Stevens 
and  Livingston  united  and  built  a  boat  to  be  propelled 
by  a  system  of  paddles,  resembling  a  horizontal  chain- 
pump,  and  with  one  of  the  engines  of  Watt,  but,  in 
consequence  of  the  weakness  of  the  vessel,  the  engine 
would  get  out  of  line,  and  the  experiment  did  not  suc- 
ceed. 


FIRST   STEAMBOATS.  33 

We  have  often  heard  and  seen  it  written  that  steam- 
boats were  invented  and  first  rnn  by  Fulton.  Such  was 
not  the  case,  as  we  have  shown  in  the  foregoing  pages ; 
but  Fulton  made  the  first  successful  experiment  with  a 
steamboat  with  side- wheels,  which  is  the  plan  adopted 
ever  since,  excepting  in  propellers. 

Fulton  commenced  his  experiments  in  Paris,  in  1803, 
upon  the  Seine,  with  a  small  vessel  with  side- wheels, 
driven  by  one  of  Watt's  engines,  adjusted  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  the  experiment  was  a  success.  He  soon  after 
determined  to  construct  a  boat  of  a  larger  size,  to  be 
tried  in  the  United  States.  This  vessel  was  built  in 
America ;  but  as  the  workshops  could  not  at  that  time 
construct  the  engine,  one  from  Watt  &,  Bolton  was 
procured,  and  Fulton  proceeded  to  England  to  superin- 
tend its  construction.  The  engine  arrived  in  New  York 
early  in  1806,  and  the  vessel  was  set  in  motion  in  the 
summer  of  1807.  The  success  of  this  experiment  is  well 
known,  and  from  that  period  steam-vessels  have  con- 
tinued to  increase  in  size  and  speed,  from  the  humble 
efforts  of  these  early  experimenters,  until  they  now  as- 
sume the  magnitude  and  magnificence  of  the  floating 
palaces  of  the  present  day. 

The  first  steam-vessel  that  traversed  the  ocean  was 
the  steamship  Savannah,  in  1817,  and  this  early  effort 
demonstrated  the  principle  that  steamships  could  be 
used  upon  the  sea.  The  Savannah  may  be  looked 
upon  as  the  pioneer,  whose  path  has  since  been  followed 
by  some  of  the  largest  and  most  magnificent  specimens 
of  naval  architecture  in  the  world. 

Though  steam,  in  its  application  to  navigation,  had 
been  progressing  rapidly,  and  even  as  early  as  1807  at- 
tained such  a  degree  of  usefulness  as  to  cause  it  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  fixed  fact,  yet  its  application  in  fa- 


34  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

cilitating  intercommunication  upon  the  land  had  not 
been  developed  during  a  quarter  of  a  century  after- 
ward. 


CHAPTEE  V. 

FIRST      STEAM-CARRIAGE. 

The  first  actual  model  of  a  steam-carriage,  of  which 
we  have  a  written  account,  was  constructed  by  a  French- 
man, named  Cugnot,  who  exhibited  it  before  the  Marquis 
de  Saxe,  in  1763.  He  afterward,  in  1769,  built  an  engine 
to  run  on  common  roads,  at  the  expense  of  the  French 
monarch.  As  it  is  the  first  steam-carriage  of  which  we 
have  any  written  account,  and  believing  that  it  would 
prove  interesting  to  our  readers,  we  copy  this  descrip- 
tion of  it  from  Appletons'  Journal  of  Popular  Litera- 
ture, Science,  and  Art,  August  17,  1869,  as  follows: 
"  One  of  the  earliest  efforts  in  the  way  of  steam  loco- 
motion was  the  engine  of  Cugnot,  of  France,  designed 
to  run  on  common  roads.  His  first  carriage  was  put  in 
motion  by  the  impulsion  of  two  single-acting  cylinders, 
the  piston  of  which  acted  alternately  on  the  single  front 
wheels.  It  travelled  about  three  or  four  miles  an  hour, 
and  carried  four  persons ;  but,  from  the  smallness  of  the 
boiler,  it  would  not  continue  to  work  more  than  twelve 
or  fifteen  minutes  without  stopping  to  get  up  steam.. 
Cugnot's  locomotive  presented  a  simple  and  ingenious 
form  of  a  high-pressure  engine,  and,  though  of  rude  con- 
struction, was  a  creditable  piece  of  work,  considering 
the  time.  He  made  a  second  engine,  with  which  severa] 
successful  trials  were  made  in   the   streets   of  Paris, 


FIRST   STEAM-CARRIAGE.  35 

which  excited  muck  interest.  An  accident,  however, 
put  an  end  to  his  experiments.  Turning  the  corner  of 
the  street  one  day,  near  the  Madeleine,  when  the  ma- 
chine was  running  at  a  speed  of  about  three  miles  an 
hour,  it  upset  with  a  crash,  and,  being  considered  danger- 
ous, was  locked  up  in  the  Arsenal.  Cugnot's  locomo- 
tive is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Museum  of  the  Conserva- 
toire des  Arts  et  Metiers,  at  Paris,  and  is  a  most  inter- 
esting relic  of  early  locomotion." 

Fig.  1. 


CUGNOT'S   LOCOMOTIVE,    1769. 


In  1784  William  Symington  conceived  the  idea  of 
steam  being  applied  to  propelling  carriages,  and  in 
1786  made  a  working  model,  but  soon  gave  it  up,  and 
nothing  was  ever  after  heard  of  the  project. 

The  first  English  model  of  a  steam-carriage  was 
made  in  1784,  by  William  Murdoch;  this  model  was 
upon  the  principle  of  the  high  pressure,  and  ran  on 
three  wheels  (for  common  roads,  of  course).  It  worked 
to  admiration,  but  nothing  further  was  ever  done  to 
bring  the  idea  into  a  more  practical  form.  . 

A  few  years  after,  Thomas  Allen,  of  London,  pub- 
lished the  plan  of  a  newly  invented  machine  for  carry- 
ing goods,  without  the  use  of  horses,  and  by  the  use 
of  steam  alone  for  the  motive  power.  His  plan  was 
to  have  cogged  wheels  to  run  upon  cogged  rails.  The 
plan  was  all  that  was  ever  brought  out. 


> 


36  HISTORY   OF  "THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

In  1801  Oliver  Evans,  of  Philadelphia,  a  mill- 
wright, who  had  entertained  the  idea,  as  early  as 
1772,  of  propelling  wagons  by  the  action  of  high 
steam,  was  employed  by  the  corporation  of  that  city  to 
construct  a  dredging-machine.  The  experiment  was  of 
a  most  remarkable  character.  The  machine  was,  as  you 
may  term  it,  an  amphibious  affair.  He  built  both  the 
vessel  and  the  machine  at  his  works,  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  water.  The  whole  weighing  42,000  lbs.,  it 
was  mounted  upon  wheels,  to  which  motion  was  given 
by  the  engine,  and  moved  without  any  further  aid  from 
the  shop  to  the  river.  After  the  machine  was  in  its 
proper  element,  a  wheel  was  then  fixed  to  the  stern  of 
the  vessel,  and  the  engine  being  again  set  in  motion, 
she  was  conveyed  to  her  designed  position.  Here  is  the 
first  propeller.  As  late  as  the  year  1800,  wooden  or 
tram  roads  were  general  in  all  the  coal  and  mining 
districts  in  England,  using  horse-power  for  the  means 
of  transportation  of  their  coal  or  ore  from  the  mines 
to  the  point  of  shipment. 

The  first  idea  and  proposition  to  introduce  the  rail- 
road, imperfect  as  it  then  was,  for  the  transportation  of 
goods  and  for  commercial  purposes  generally,  and  to  be 
used  as  a  highway  between  one  city  and  another,  as  at 
the  present  day,  was  made  before  the  Literary  and 
Philosophical  Society  of  Newcastle,  England,  by  Mr. 
Thomas,  of  Denton,  on  the  11th  February,  1800.  The 
same  idea  was  taken  hold  of  in  1802,  by  a  Mr.  Edge- 
worth,  who  urged  the  same  plan  for  the  transit  of 
passengers.  He  urges  that  stage-coaches  might  be 
made  to  go  at  six  miles  an  hour,  and  post-coaches 
and  gentlemen's  travelling-carriages  at  eight  miles  an 
hour,  with  one  horse  alone.  He  also  suggested  that 
small  stationary  engines  placed  from  distance  to  dis- 


FIRST   STEAM-CARRIAGE.  37 

tance  might  be  made,  and  by  the  use  of  endless 
chains  draw  the  carriages,  at  a  great  diminution  of 
horse-power. 

These  ideas  of  Mr.  Thomas  were  followed  by  a 
recommendation  from  a  Dr.  Anderson,  of  Edinburgh,  a 
friend  arid  co-laborer  with  Watt  in  his  experiments 
upon  the  improvements  in  steam-engines.  The  doctor 
dilated  upon  the  subject  with  great  warmth  and  en- 
thusiasm.  So  apparently  extravagant  were  his  views 
upon  this  his  favorite  topic  considered,  that  many  of 
his  friends  thought  his  mind  had  become  affected. 
"  If,"  said  he,  "  we  can  diminish  only  one  single  farthing 
in  the  cost  of  transportation  and  personal  intercommuni- 
cation, and  you  at  once  widen  the  circle  of  intercourse, 
you  form,  as  it  were,  a  new  creation — not  only  of  stone 
and  earth,  of  trees  and  plants,  but  of  men  also;  and, 
what  is  of  far  greater  consequence,  you  promote  in- 
dustry, happiness,  and  joy.  The  cost  of  all  human  con- 
sumption would  be  reduced,  the  facilities  of  agriculture 
promoted,  time  and  distance  would  be  almost  annihi- 
lated; the  country  would  be  brought  nearer  to  the 
town ;  the  number  of  horses  to  carry  on  traffic  would 
be  diminished ;  mines  and  manufactories  would  appear 
in  neighborhoods  hitherto  considered  almost  isolated 
by  distance;  villages,  towns,  and  even  cities,  would 
spring  up  all  through  the  country;  and  spots  now 
silent  as  the  grave  would  be  enlivened  with  the  busy 
hum  of  human  voices,  the  sound  of  the  hammer,  and  the 
clatter  of  machinery ;  the  whole  country  would  be,  as 
it  were,  revolutionized  with  life  and  activity,  and  a 
general  prosperity  would  be  the  result  of  this  mighty 
auxiliary  to  trade  and  commerce  throughout  the  land." 

How  perfectly  true  were  these  arguments  of  Ander- 
son, and  how  his  predictions  have  been  verified  even  in 


38  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

our  own  State !  '  What  else  could  have  developed  the 
boundless  wealth  of  our  mountain-regions  but  the  intro- 
duction of  the  railroad  system  and  its  powerful  aux- 
iliary the  locomotive,  by  which  means  their  hitherto  in- 
accessible fastnesses  have  been  penetrated,  and  access 
thereto  made  comparatively  easy ;  while  their  vast  re- 
sources of  wealth  in  lumber,  coal,  minerals,  and  oil, 
have  been  brought  nearer  to  a  market,  and,  but  for  this 
system  of  transportation,  they  would  to  this  day  have 
been  locked  up  in  impenetrable  mystery  in  the  deep 
recesses  of  the  mountains?  " 


CHAPTER   VI. 

TKEVI  THICK'S    ENGINE. 

While  these  propositions  were  developing,  one 
Richard  Trevithick,  a  foreman  in  a  Cornish  tin-mine, 
prompted,  no  doubt,  by  seeing  the  model  engine  which 
Murdoch  had  constructed,  determined  to  build  a  car- 
riage to  run  on  common  roads,  and  a  Mr.  Vivian  joined 
him  in  the  enterprise.  They  took  out  a  patent  in 
1802.  A  description  of  this  machine  will  not  be  un- 
interesting to  our  readers : 

This  steam-carriage  resembled  a  stage-coach,  and 
was  upon  four  wheels.  It  had  one  horizontal  cylinder, 
which,  together  with  the  boiler  and  furnace-box,  was 
placed  in  the  rear  of  the  hind  axle.  The  motion  of  the 
piston  was  transmitted  to  a  separate  crank-axle,  from 
which,  through  the  medium  of  spur-gear,  the  axle  of  the 
driving-wheel  derived  its  motion.     It  is  worthy  of  note 


TREVITHICK'S  ENGINE.  39 

that  the  steam-racks  and  force-pumps,  as  also  the  bel- 
lows used  in  generating  combustion,  were  worked  off 
the  same  crank-axle. 

This  was  the  first  successful  high-pressure  engine 
constructed  on  the  principle  of  moving  a  piston,  by  the 
elasticity  of  steam,  against  the  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere, and  without  a  vacuum.  Such  an  engine  had 
been  described  by  Leopold,  though  in  his  apparatus  the 
pressure  acted  only  on  one  side  of  the  piston,  while  in 
Trevithick's  and  Vivian's  engine  the  piston  was  not 
only  raised  but  likewise  depressed  by  the  steam.  This 
was  original  with  them,  and  of  great  merit. 

This  kind  of  carriage  on  common  roads  was  toler- 
ably successful.  It  was  exhibited  at  the  city  of  London, 
and  attracted  great  crowds  to  witness  its  performance ; 
and  it  drew  behind  it  a  carriage  filled  with  passengers. 
But  it  soon  became  obvious  that  the  roads  in  England 
were  too  rough  and  uneven  for  the  successful  use  of 
such  machines,  and  it  was  soon  after  abandoned  by 
Trevithick  as  a  practical  failure. 

Trevithick  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  inven- 
tion of  a  steam-carriage  or  locomotive,  to  run  upon  the 
tram-roads  then  in  general  use  in  England;  and  in 
1804  he  commenced  his  machine ;  in  the  same  year 
it  was  completed  and  tried  upon  the  Merthyr-Tydvil 
Eailway,  in  South  Wales.  On  this  occasion  it  suc- 
ceeded in  drawing  after  it  several  wagons  containing 
ten  tons  of  bar-iron,  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour. 
The  boiler  of  this  machine  was  cylindrical  in  form,  flat 
at  the  ends,  and  constructed  of  cast-iron.  The  furnace 
and  flues  were  inside  the  boiler,  in  which  a  single  cylin- 
der of  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  four  feet  six  inch 
.  stroke  was  immersed  upright.  Although  this  locomo- 
tive, when  tried  upon  the  railroad  as  above  stated,  sue- 


40  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

ceeded  in  drawing  a  considerable  weight,  and  travelling 
at  a  fair  speed,  from  other  causes  it  proved  like  his  first 
steam-carriage,  a  practical  failure,  and  was  soon  aban- 
doned. This  experiment,  however,  may  be  considered 
as  the  first  attempt  to  adapt  the  locomotive  to  service 
upon  a  railroad  of  which  we  have  any  written  account. 

The  great  difficulty  and  obstacle  which  at  that 
early  day  did  more  than  any  thing  else  to  retard  the 
successful  progress  of  the  locomotive  for  railroad  pur- 
poses, was  the  idea  that,  upon  the  smooth  surface  of  a 
rail  or  iron  plate  then  in  use,  the  smooth  surface  of  the 
driving-wheel  would  not  have  adhesive  power  to  cause 
the  engine  to  move  forward,  much  less  have  a  suffi- 
cient friction  to  enable  the  machine,  not  only  to  go 
ahead  itself,  but  to  draw  a  weight  of  carriages  behind 
it.  To  remedy  this  evil,  Trevithick  recommended,  and 
caused  to  be  placed  upon  the  surface  of  the  driving- 
wheels  of  his  machine,  heads  of  bolts  and  numerous 
grooves,  to  produce  the  required  adhesion.  It  proved 
successful,  but  produced  a  succession  of  jolts  veiy  trying 
upon  the  cast-iron  plates  upon  the  roads  upon  which 
the  experiments  were  tried,  as  well  as  upon  the  ma- 
chine. 

In  1811  a  Mr.  Blankensop,  of  Leeds,  took  out  a  pat- 
ent for  a  machine  and  rail  adapted  to  each  other :  a  rack 
or  toothed  rail  was  to  be  laid  down  along  one  side  of 
the  track,  into  which  a  tooth-wheel  of  his  locomotive 
worked.  The  boiler  of  his  engine  was  supported  by  a 
carriage  upon  four  wheels  without  teeth,  and  resting 
immediately  on  the  axles.  These  were  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  the  working-parts  of  the  engine,  and  merely 
supported  its  weight,  the  progress  being  effected  by  the 
motion  of  the  cogged  wheels  working  on  the  cogged. 
rail.     This  engine  began  running  on  the  railroad  from 


TREVITHTCE'S  ENGINE.  41 

the  Middleton  collieries  to  the  town  of  Leeds,  about 
three  and  a  quarter  miles,  on  the  12th  of  August,  1812. 
For  a  number  of  years  it  was  a  permanent  object  of 
curiosity,  and  was  visited  by  crowds  of  strangers  from 
all  parts.  These  engines  (for  several  were  afterward 
constructed)  drew  after  them  thirty  coal-cars,  loaded, 
at  a  speed  of  three  and  a  quarter  miles  per  hour, 
and  were  in  use  for  many  years,  and  may  justly  be  con- 
sidered as  the  first  instance  of  the  employment  of  loco- 
motive power  for  commercial  purposes. 

Another  curious  experiment  was  tried  in  1812,  to 
overcome  the  want  of  friction  upon  the  road  and  increase 
the  power  of  the  engine.  A  Mr.  Chapman,  of  New- 
castle, took  out  a  patent  for  this  invention.  The  plan 
was  a  chain  stretched  from  one  end  of  the  road  to  the 
other.  The  chain  was  passed  once  round  a  grooved 
barrel-wheel  under  the  centre  of  the  engine,  so  that, 
when  the  wheels  turned,  the  locomotive  would,  as  it 
were,  drag  itself  along  the  railway.  The  experiment 
was  tried  with  an  engine  constructed  for  the  purpose  on 
the  Heaton  Railway,  near  Newcastle,  but  it  was  so 
clumsy  in  its  action  that  it  was  soon  abandoned. 

But  the  most  remarkable,  extravagant,  and  amusing 
experiment  of  all,  and  one  which  must  bring  to  the 
countenance  of  our  readers  at  the  present  day  a  smile, 
was  the  one  adopted  by  a  Mr.  Brunton,  of  the  Butterby 
Works,  Derbyshire,  in  1813,  who  took  out  a  patent  for 
a  machine  which  was  to  go  upon  legs  like  a  horse.  This 
contrivance  had  two  legs  attached  to  the  back  part, 
which,  being  alternately  moved  by  the  engine,  pushed 
it  before  them.  These  legs,  or  propellers,  imitated  the 
legs  of  a  man  or  the  fore-legs  of  a  horse,  with  joints, 
and  when  worked  by  the  machine  alternately  lifted 
and   pressed   against    the   ground  or  road,  propelling 


42 


HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA. 


the  engine  forward,  as  a  man  shoves  a  boat  ahead  by 
pressing  with  a  pole  against  the  bottom  of  a  river. 


Fig.  2. 


"WILLIAM   BKTTNTON   LOCOMOTIVE. 


This  contrivance  was  so  singular  and  ingenious  that 
we  cannot  refrain  from  giving  a  description  of  it,  taken 
from  a  very  interesting  work  upon  road-making,  by  W. 
M.  Gillespie,  A.  M.,  C.  E. 

The  legs  are  indicated  by  H  K  F  and  H  hf.  H  rep- 
resents the  hip-joint,  K  and  Jc  the  knee-joints,  A  and  a 
the  ankle-joints,  and  F  and  f  the  feet.  We  will  first 
examine  the  action  of  the  front  leg.  The  knee,  K,  is 
attached  to  the  end  of  a  piston-rod,  which  the  steam 
drives  backward  and  forward  in  the  horizontal  cylinder, 
C.  When  the  piston  is  driven  outward,  it  presses  the 
leg  K  F  against  the  ground,  and  thus  propels  the  engine 
forward,  as  a  man  shoves  a  boat  ahead  by  pressing  with 
a  pole  against  the  bottom  of  a  river.  As  the  engine 
advances,  the  leg  straightens,  the  point  H  is  carried  for- 
ward, and  the  extremity,  M,  of  the  bent  lever  H  M,  is 
raised.  A  cord,  M  S,  being  attached  to  S,  the  shin  of 
the  leg,  the  motion  of  the  lever  tightens  the  cord,  and 
finally  raises  the  foot  from  the  ground,  and  prepares  it 


TREVITHICK'S  ENGINE.  43 

to  take  a  fresh  step  where  the  reversed  action  of  the 
piston  has  lowered  it  again.  The  action  of  the  other 
leg  is  precisely  similar,  but  motion  communicated  to  it 
from  the  first  one.  Just  above  the  knee  of  the  front  leg, 
at  N,  is  attached  a  rod,  on  which  is  a  toothed  rack,  R. 
Working  in  it  is  a  cog-wheel,  which  enters  also  a  second 
rack,  r,  below  it,  which  is  connected  by  a  second  rod 
with  point  n  of  the  other  leg.  When  the  piston  is  driven 
out  and  pushes  the  engine  from  the  knee,  the  rack  R  is 
drawn  backward,  and  turns  the  cog-wheel,  which  then 
draws  the  lower  rack  r  forward,  and  operates  on  the 
hind  leg  precisely  as  the  piston-rod  does  on  the  front 
one,  and  thus  the  legs  take  alternate  steps,  and  walk  on 
with  the  engine. 

This  locomotive  or  "  mechanical  traveller,"  as  it 
was  termed  by  its  inventor,  moved  on  a  railway  at  the 
rate  of  two  and  a  half  miles  per  hour,  with  the  tractive 
force  of  four  horses.  Mr.  Brunton's  machine,  however, 
never  got  beyond  the  experimental  state,  for,  on  one  of 
its  trials,  it  unhappily  blew  up,  killing  and  wounding 
several  of  the  by-standers,  was  never  repaired,  but  laid 
aside  as  one  of  the  failures  of  the  times. 

These  experiments,  though  failures  in  their  results, 
were  followed  up  by  a  Mr.  Blackett,  of  Wylam,  whose 
persevering  efforts  paved  the  way  for  the  future  labors 
of  George  Stephenson. 

To  make  his  experiments  Mr.  Blackett  ordered  one 
of  the  locomotives  of  the  Trevithick  patent,  and  also 
employed  rack-rails  and  tooth  driving-wheels  like 
Blankensop's,  and  had  his  road  altered  for  the  occasion. 
This  engine  was  the  most  awkwardly-constructed  ma- 
chine imaginable.  It  had  a  single  cylinder  six  inches 
in  diameter,  and  a  fly-wheel  working  on  one  side  to  carry 
the  cranks  over  the  dead-points.    The  boiler  was  of  cast- 


44  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

iron,  and  the  weight  of  the  whole  was  about  six  tons ; 
a  wooden  frame  was  supported  by  four  pairs  of  wheels, 
and  a  barrel  of  water  placed  upon  another  frame  sus- 
tained by  two  pairs  of  wheels  served  as  a  tender.  "When 
all  was  ready,  the  word  was  given  to  go  ahead,  but  the 
engine  would  not  move  an  inch ;  when  it  was  finally  set 
in  motion,  it  flew  to  pieces,  and  the  workmen  and  spec- 
tators, with  Mr.  Blackett  at  their  head,  scattered  and  fled 
in  every  direction !  The  machine,  or  what  was  left  of  it, 
was  taken  off  the  road,  and  afterward  a  portion  of  it 
was  used  as  a  pump  at  one  of  the  mines. 

Mr.  Blackett  was  not,  however,  discouraged.  His 
next  experiment  was  an  engine  with  a  single  eight-inch 
cylinder,  which  was  fitted  with  a  fly-wheel,  the  driving- 
wheel  on  one  side  being  cogged  in  order  to  enable  it  to 
travel  on  the  rack-rail.  This  engine  proved  more  suc- 
cessful than  its  predecessors,  and,  although  it  was 
clumsy  and  unsightly,  it  was  capable  of  drawing  eight 
or  nine  wagons  loaded  with  coal  to  the  shipping-point 
at  Lemington ;  its  weight,  however,  was  too  great  for  the 
road,  and  the  cast-iron  rails  were  continually  breaking. 
Its  work  was  by  no  means  successful.  It  crept  along 
at  a  snail's  pace,  sometimes  taking  six  hours  to  go  five 
miles  to  the  landing-place.  It  was  continually  getting 
off  the  track,  and  there  it  would  stick.  Horses  would 
then  have  to  be  sent  out  to  pull  it  on  the  track.  The 
engine  often  broke  down ;  its  pumps,  plugs,  and  cranks 
would  get  wrong,  then  the  horses  again  would  be 
needed  to  drag  the  machine  back  to  the  shop.  In  fact, 
it  at  last  got  so  cranky  that  the  horses  were  frequently 
sent  out  to  follow  the  engine  to  be  in  readiness  to  draw 
it  along  when  it  gave  out.     At  last  it  was  abandoned. 

Notwithstanding  the  repeated  failures,  and  the 
amount  of  money  expended  on  these  experiments,  Mr. 


GEORGE  STEPHENSON.  45 

Blackett  persevered.  In  1813  he  made  an  experiment 
with  a  frame  upon  fonr  wheels,  to  determine  the  much- 
disputed  point,  the  adhesive  power  of  a  smooth-surfaced 
driving-wheel  upon  a  smooth-surfaced  rail.  Six  men 
were  placed  upon  this  frame,  which  was  fitted  up  with 
a  windlass  attached  by  gearing  to  the  several  wheels. 
When  the  men  worked  the  windlass,  the  adhesion  was 
found  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  propel  the  machine 
without  slipping.  This  experiment  settled  the  diffi- 
culty which  was  always  thought  to  be  in  the  way  of 
the  successful  use  of  the  locomotive  upon  the  smooth 
surface  of  a  railroad  with  smooth-surfaced  driving- 
wheels,  proving  that  rack-rails,  tooth-wheels,  endless 
chains,  and  legs,  were  useless  requisites  to  the  success- 
ful use  of  a  locomotive  with  smooth-surfaced  driving- 
wheels  upon  a  smooth-surfaced  railroad-track,  and  draw- 
ing loaded  wagons  behind  it. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

GEOKGE    STEPHENSON. 

While  Mr.  Blackett  was  building  locomotives  and 
experimenting  with  them,  George  Stephenson,  then  en- 
joying a  high  reputation  for  his  ingenuity  and  skill  as 
a  machinist,  was  deliberating  in  his  mind  on  the  possi- 
bility of  locomotives  being  made  and  improved  so 
as  eventually  to  supersede  the  use  of  horse-power 
upon  tram-roads ;  but  the  want  of  means,  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  obtaining  skilful  mechanics  at  that  early  day 
to  do  the  requisite  work,  retarded  him  in  his  long- 
cherished  idea  of  making  a  machine  that  would  answer 


46  HISTORY  OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

effectually  the  purpose  for  which  the  locomotive  was 
intended.  True  it  was  that  Blankensop's  engine,  built 
in  1813,  had  been  in  use  upon  the  tram- way  at  Wylain, 
and  improvements  were  subsequently  made  so  that  a 
machine  had  been  constructed  and  run  upon  the  tram- 
way between  Kenton  and  Cox  Lodge,  which  was  enabled 
to  draw  after  it  sixteen  loaded  cars,  of  about  seventy 
tons,  at  the  rate  of  three  miles  an  hour.  Yet  this  engine, 
and  others  like  it,  were  far  from  being  perfect,  or  adapt- 
ed to  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  intended,  being 
clumsy,  cumbrous,  and  awkward,  in  all  their  move- 
ments. Mr.  Stephenson  saw  one  of  these  at  work,  and 
when  asked  by  one  of  his  companions  what  he  thought 
of  it,  he  replied  that  he  "  could  make  a  better  one  than 
that;"  and,  to  accomplish  this,  he  devoted  his  whole 
mind  and  energies,  the  result  of  which  we  will  show 
hereafter. 

It  will  not,  we  trust,  be  deemed  out  of  place  to 
devote  a  small  space  in  our  pages  to  give,  as  briefly 
as  possible,  some  of  the  early  history  of  this  afterward 
most  distinguished  engineer  and  machinist,  who  may 
be  justly  looked  upon  as  the  father  of  the  locomotive 
system  in  England,  now  so  successful  and  essential  to 
its  commerce  and  manufactures.  His  history  may  tend 
to  impress  upon  the  mind  of  any  youthful  reader  and 
mechanic  who  may  be  now,  as  he  once  was,  a  poor  boy, 
how  a  young  man,  by  industry  and  perseverance  in  a 
good  cause,  may  ultimately  build  up  for  himself  a  posi- 
tion which  would  lead  eventually  to  eminence  and  fame. 

George  Stephensow  was  born  on  June  9,  1781,  in 
a  small  colliery  village  called  Wylam,  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  river  Tyne.  The  tram-road  between  New- 
castle and  Carlisle  runs  along  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
river  from  the  coal-pits  to  the  shipping-point.     Kobert 


GEORGE   STEPHENSON.  47 

Stephenson,  the  father  of  George,  was  a  poor,  hard- 
working man,  and  supported  his  family  entirely  from 
his  own  wages  of  less  at  first  than,  but  afterward  raised 
to,  twelve  shillings  a  week. 

The  wagons  loaded  with  coal  passed  by  Wylam 
several  times  a  day.  These  wagons  were  drawn  by 
horses ;  for  locomotives  had  not  been  dreamed  of  by  the 
most  visionary  of  that  early  period.  George's  first 
wages  were  twopence  per  day,  to  herd  some  cows  owned 
by  a  neighbor  which  were  allowed  to  feed  along  the 
road ;  to  watch  and  keep  them  off  the  tram-road,  and 
out  of  the  way  of  the  coal-wagons ;  also,  to  close  the 
gates  after  the  day's  work  of  the  wagons  was  over. 

The  old  mine  being  worked  out,  the  Stephenson 
family  removed  to  the  new  opening  at  Dudley  Burn, 
where  Robert,  the  father,  worked  as  fireman.  George's 
first  work  about  these  mines  was  at  what  is  known  as  a 
picker.  His  duty  was  to  clean  the  coal  of  stone,  slate, 
and  other  impurities,  at  wages  advanced  to  sixpence 
per  day,  and,  after  promotion,  raised  to  eighteen-pence 
per  day. 

After  several  removals  to  new  openings,  as  the  coal 
would  be  worked  out  in  the  old,  George,  who  had 
always  lived  at  home,  and  was  now  about  fifteen  years 
of  age,  found  himself  at  the  new  opening,  at  Jolly's  Close, 
where  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  fireman,  at 
the  opening  called  "  Mid  Mill  Winnin."  There  he  re- 
mained two  years,  and  was  then  again  removed  to  a  new 
pit  near  Throckly  Bridge,  where  he  worked,  and  his 
wages  were  raised  to  twelve  shillings  per  week.  He 
next  worked  at  a  new  opening  called  Water  Row,  where 
a  pumping  machine  was  erected,  and  George,  who  was 
then  seventeen  years  of  age,  was  placed  in  charge  as 
plugman  and  engineer,  while  his  father  worked  under 


48  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA. 

him  as  the  fireman.  At  that  time  he  never  suffered  an 
opportunity  to  pass  without  improving  himself  in  the 
knowledge  of  his  engine.  When  not  at  work,  and  while 
others,  employed  in  and  about  the  mines,  would  be 
spending  their  time  and  earnings  in  drinking  and  idle 
sports,  George  employed  himself  in  taking  to  pieces  his 
engine,  to  possess  himself  of  knowledge  and  of  every 
j>eculiarity  about  it.  By  these  means  he  became  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  his  engine,  and,  if  at  any  time 
it  got  wrong,  he  was  able  to  adjust  and  even  repair  it, 
without  calling  in  the  aid  of  the  chief  engineer  of  the 
colliery.  At  this  time  (for  want  of  an  opportunity), 
George  Stephenson,  now  entering  upon  the  very  thresh- 
old of  manhood,  could  not  read,  nor  did  he  even 
know  his  letters.  The  first  rudiments  of  his  education 
were  derived  from  one  Robert  Cowen,  who  had  a  night- 
school  in  the  village  of  Wallbottle  ;  with  him  he  took 
lessons  in  spelling  and  reading,  three  nights  in  the 
week,  paying  threepence  per  week  for  his  tuition. 
Notwithstanding  these  obstacles  in  his  way,  George 
labored,  studied,  and  persevered,  and  at  eighteen  he 
was  able  to  write  his  own  name. 

In  1799  he  attended  another  night  school,  at  New- 
burn.  His  teacher  was  one  Andrew  Robinson,  from 
whom  he  learned  his  arithmetic.  During  his  leisure 
hours  he  employed  himself  in  working  out  the  sums 
set  him  by  Robinson,  and  in  the  evening  handed  in  his 
slate  to  the  master  for  examination  and  a  fresh  supply 
of  sums  for  his  study.  George's  wages  now  amounted 
to  £1  15s.  6d.  to  £2,  per  fortnight.  To  this  he  added 
his  earnings  for  shoe-mending  and  shoe-making,  which 
he  had  taken  up. 

In  1804  he  walked  on  foot  to  Scotland,  to  take 
charge  of  one  of  Bolton  &,  Watt's  engines.     He  re- 


STEPHENSON'S  ENGINE  49 

turned,  after  a  year's  absence,  to  Killingworth,  on  foot, 
as  he  had  gone,  and  was  soon  at  work  as  brakesman  at 
the  lifting  engine  on  the  West  Moore  pit. 

In  1807  George  Stephenson  meditated  upon  emi- 
grating to  America;  but  found  himself  too  poor  to 
pay  his  passage,  and  was  compelled  to  abandon  the 
project.  To  his  earnings  then  he  added  the  repairing 
of  clocks  and  watches,  and  the  cutting  out  of  clothes 
for  the  wives  of  the  workmen  to  make  up.  Thus  did 
this  energetic  and  untiring  man  persevere  and  labor  for 
advancement  in  knowledge,  until  he  was  promoted  as 
head  engineer  or  plugman,  as  the  engineer  was  called, 
at  the  colliery. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 


It  was  now  that  Mr.  Stephenson,  about  twenty- 
six  years  of  age,  set  about  the  construction  of  his  first 
locomotive.  As  we  before  stated,  the  want  of  good 
and  skilful  workmen  was  a  great  drawback.  None  of 
the  magnificent  and  ingenious  machinery  of  the  present 
day  to  be  seen  in  our  machine-shops  had  been  invented. 
At  that  early  period  every  part  of  the  engine  had  to  be 
made  by  hand,  and  hammered  into  shape  as  a  horse- 
shoe was ;  and  John  Thorswall,  the  colliery  blacksmith, 
was  his  chief  workman ;  and  with  all  these  disadvan- 
tages and  difficulties  to  contend  with,  Mr.  Stephenson 
persevered  and  finally  completed  his  first  locomotive. 

It  will  no  doubt  be  interesting  to  our  mechanical 
readers  to  have  a  full  description  of  Mr.  Stephenson's 


50  HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

first  effort.  The  boiler  was  cylindrical,  eight  feet  long 
and  thirty-four  inches  in  diameter,  with  an  internal  flue- 
tube  twenty  inches  wide  passing  through  the  boiler. 
The  engine  had  two  vertical  cylinders  of  eight  inches 
in  diameter  and  two  feet  stroke,  let  into  the  boiler, 
working  the  propelling  gear,  with  cross-heads  and  con- 
necting rods ;  the  power  of  the  two  cylinders  was  con- 
tinued by  means  of  spur-wheels,  which  communicated 
the  motive  power  to  the  wheels  supporting  the  engine 
upon  the  rails.  The  adoption  of  the  spur-gear  was  the 
chief  peculiarity  of  this  new  engine ;  it  worked  upon 
what  is  termed  the  second  motion.  The  chimney  was  of 
wrought-iron,  around  which  was  a  chamber  extending 
back  to  the  feed-pumps,  for  the  purpose  of  heating  the 
water  previous  to  its  injection  into  the  boiler.  The 
engine  had  no  springs,  was  mounted  on  a  wooden 
frame  upon  four  wheels.  In  order,  however,  to  equalize 
the  jolts  and  shocks  which  such  an  engine  would  en- 
counter, the  water-barrel,  which  served  as  a  tender, 
was  fixed  at  the  end  of  a  lever  and  weighted,  the  other 
end  being  connected  with  the  frame  of  the  carriage. 
The  wheels  of  this  locomotive  were  all  smooth,  and  it 
was  the  first  engine  so  constructed.  After  ten  months' 
labor,  this  locomotive  was  completed  and  put  upon  the 
Killingwood  Eailway  on  the  25th  July,  1814,  and  tried. 
On  an  ascending  grade  of  one  in  four  hundred  and  fifty 
feet,  this  engine  succeeded  in  drawing  after  it  eight 
loaded  wagons  of  thirty  tons'  weight,  at  about  four 
miles  an  hour,  and  was  the  most  successful  working- 
engine  that  had  ever  been  constructed  up  to  this  period. 
It  was  called  "Blucher."  Although  successful,  this 
improvement  over  horse-power  was  not  sufficient  to 
justify  the  abandonment  of  the  latter.  The  great  trou- 
ble with  this  new  machine  was  the  inability  of  keeping 


STEPHENSON'S  ENGINE.  51 

up  steam  sufficient  to  answer  its  demands ;  and  this  ex- 
periment, like  all  its  predecessors,  might  have  been  set 
aside  as  a  practical  failure,  had  not  Mr.  Stephenson  hit 
upon  (accidentally)  the  invention  or  discovery  of  the 
steani-blast.  The  puffing  and  noise  occasioned  by  the 
escapement  of  the  steam  from  the  steam-pipe  into  the 
open  air,  after  it  had  performed  its  duty  in  the  cylinder, 
frightened  the  horses  upon  the  common  roads  hard  by 
and  near  the  vicinity  of  the  crossings,  and  occasioned 
much  complaint  to  the  authorities.  ^  Mr.  Stephenson 
was  warned  by  the  police  to  abate  the  nuisance,  or  be 
subject  to  a  prosecution.  IJTo  remedy  the  evil  he  hit 
upon  the  plan  of  discharging  the  surplus  steam  into 
the  smoke-stack,  which  produced  a  vacuum,  and  the 
draught  in  his  furnace  became  so  perfect,  that  double  the 
quantity  of  steam  was  generated,  and  the  power  of  his 
engine  increased  to  double  its  former  capacity."^  This 
was  a  triumph,  and  encouraged  the  inventor  to  further 
experiments.  Seeing  all  the  defects  of  his  first  engine, 
and  the  wonderful  effects  of  the  steam-blast  in  facilitat- 
ing the  combustion  of  the  fuel  used  in  generating  steam, 
Mr.  Stephenson  set  about  constructing  his  second  en- 
gine, the  patent  dated  February  28,  1815. 

This  second  locomotive  we  will  describe,  as  we  think 
it  will  prove  interesting  to  our  readers,  especially  so  to 
our  engine-drivers  or  engineers  and  our  locomotive-ma- 
chinists. 

Like  the  first,  this  engine  had  two  vertical  cylinders, 
communicating  directly  with  each  pair  of  the  fore-wheels 
which  supported  the  engine,  by  means  of  a  cross-head 
and  a  pair  of  connecting-rods.  It  was  soon  seen  that 
the  direct  action  from  the  cylinder  to  the  wheels  upon 
such  uneven  roads  would  not  answer  with  the  rigidity 
of  the  machinery,  particularly  the  stiff  connecting-rods 


52  HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

communicating  from  the  wheels  to  the  piston-heads. 
To  obviate  this  difficulty,(Mr.  Stephenson  invented  and 
applied  the  ball-and-socket  joint  upon  his  connecting- 
rods,  where  they  were  attached  to  the  pistons,  and 
crank-pins  upon  the  crank-axles.  J 

Many  other  experiments  were  tried  and  as  quickly 
abandoned  in  England  by  this  accomplished  engineer, 
whose  name  and  reputation  were  as  well  known  in 
America  as  they  were  in  England.  These  experiments 
tended  in  a  great  measure  to  prevent  our  own  country- 
men subsequently  from  falling  into  the  same  errors  and 
mistakes  that  would  be  found  in  the  pathway  of  the 
early  developments  of  this  wonder  of  science  and  me- 
chanics, the  locomotive. 

We  will  not  believe  but  that  a  description,  step  by 
step — from  the  first  experiments  by  Trevithick,  in 
1804,  on  the  Merthyr-Tydvil  Eailway,  in  South  Wales, 
when  his  machine  drew  after  it  several  wagons  contain- 
ing ten  tons  of  bar-iron  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour, 
to  the  experiments  of  Stephenson,  with  his  far-famed 
Rocket — will  prove  interesting  to  the  machinists  and 


engineers 


anions  our  readers,  and  we  will  continue  our 


accounts  until  we  come  to  the  date  of  our  own  experi- 
ments in  America. 

It  will  be  remembered  by  our  readers  that  in  the 
Blucher  the  motion  was  continued  by  the  spur-wheel 
system,  and  its  place  was  supplied  by  inserting  into  the 
axle  two  cranks  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  and  this 
method  answered  extremely  well;  but  even  here  Mr. 
Stephenson  found  obstacles,  in  the  difficulty,  at  that 
early  day,  of  forging  cranks  of  sufficient  strength  and 
accuracy  to  answer  the  purpose,  and  stand  the  jars  and 
jolts  occasioned  by  the  rough  roads,  and  he  tried  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  requisite  object.     This  new  arrangement 


STEPHENSON'S  ENGINE.  53 

was  a  chain  which  rolled  over  indented  wheels  on  the 
centre  of  each  axle,  and  so  arranged  that  the  two  pair 
of  wheels  were  effectually  coupled  and  made  to  keep 
pace  with  each  other.  This  did  well  for  a  while,  but 
the  chains  soon  proved  troublesome,  and  were  aban- 
doned for  the  new  plan  of  connecting  the  front  and 
hind  wheels  together  by  rods  outside  of  the  wheels, 
instead  of  rods  and  cranks  inside,  as  at  first.  This 
method  completely  answered  the  purpose,  and  is  in  use 
at  the  present  day. 

Although  many  other  improvements  were  afterward 
suggested  to  the  fertile  mind  of  Mr.  Stephenson,  and 
introduced  in  the  machinery  of  the  locomotive  Blucher, 
yet,  as  a  mechanical  construction,  it  may  be  considered 
as  the  type  of  the  present  successful  locomotive  system. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  now  left  alone  in  locomotive 
experiments  and  improvements:  all  the  other  experi- 
mentalists before  him  quitted  the  field  of  that  kind  of 
enterprise,  and  all  their  works  in  the  shape  of  machines 
were  thrown  away  and  entirely  abandoned. 

Eailways,  as  we  have  before  stated,  had  been  in  suc- 
cessful operation  for  many  years,  in  the  transportation 
of  coal  and  mineral  ores  from  the  mines  to  the  places  of 
shipment.  The  idea  had  never  been  suggested  to  the 
mind  of  any  one,  or  had  never,  at  least,  been  advocated, 
to  use  them  for  general  purposes  of  traffic,  or,  as  at  the 
present  time,  for  the  transportation  of  goods,  wares, 
merchandise,  produce,  or  for  the  transportation  of  passen- 
gers from  one  city  to  another,  until  about  the  year  1800, 
as  we  before  stated,  by  a  Mr.  Thomas,  who  introduced 
the  subject  before  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society 
of  Newcastle,  and  a  few  years  after  by  a  Mr.  Edgeworth, 
and  even  then  no  other  power  was  thought  or  dreamed 
of  but  the  horse-power  then  in  use  upon  all  the  tram- 


54  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

roads  (as  the  railroads  were  called  in  all  tlie  mining 
regions  throughout  England  and  wherever  else  they 
were  used),  and  which  had  by  this  time  become  general, 
and  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  essential  necessaries 
for  such  enterprises.  But  the  use  of  steam-power  had 
not  entered  the  minds  of  the  warmest  advocates  of  rail- 
roads for  general  purposes,  as  at  the  present  day. 

It  was  not  until  1820  that  the  first  suggestion  of 
using  the  locomotive  (imperfect  as  it  then  was)  in  the 
place  of  horse-power,  was  advocated  by  one  Thomas 
Gray,  who  devoted  much  of  his  time  and  money  in 
publishing  articles  and  pamphlets  upon  the  subject. 
He  pointed  out  the  importance  of  such  a  road  between 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  and  other  important  points, 
all  of  which  have  since  been  carried  out.  He  was  so 
energetic  and  pertinacious  in  his  efforts  to  impress  it 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  so  untiring  in  his 
labors,  that  many  pronounced  him  a  bore,  and  those 
who  knew  him  declared  that  he  was  cracked  or  deranged 
— -just  as,  nearly  two  hundred  years  before,  poor  Solo- 
mon de  Cause  was  shut  up  in  a  mad-house  for  advocat- 
ing his  discovery  of  a  great  power  in  the  steam  of 
boiling  water. 

While  Mr.  Gray'  was  advocating  the  adoption  of 
railways  for  general  transportation  purposes,  George 
Stephenson  was  planning  locomotives  to  run  upon 
them. 


CHAPTER    IX 

FIRST    TRAINS. 


In  1819  the  Hatton  Colliery,  in  Durham,  was  altered 
into   a  locomotive   railroad,  and  Mr.  Stephenson   ap- 


FIRST  TRAINS.  55 

pointed  its  chief  engineer.  He  soon  began  his  labors, 
and  on  the  18th  of  November,  1822,  the  road  was  opened 
for  the  first  time  for  locomotives.  Crowds  came  from 
all  directions  to  witness  the  experiment.  Five  of  Mr. 
Stephenson's  engines  were  upon  the  road  that  day,  each 
engine  drawing  after  it  seventeen  wagons  loaded,  aver- 
aging sixty-four  tons,  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an 
hour. 

Mr.  Stephenson  next  became  chief  engineer  of  the 
Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway,  another  coal-road 
about  being  constructed.  On  account  of  the  nature  of 
the  ground  over  which  this  road  would  pass,  and  the 
limited  means  put  into  Mr.  Stephenson's  hands  for  its 
construction,  he  was  compelled  to  adopt  the  incline- 
plane  system  in  those  places  where  too  much  labor  and 
money  would  be  required.  Other  parts  of  the  road 
were  made  for  horse  or  steam  power,  which  of  the  two 
had  not  as  yet  been  determined  upon.  The  success  of 
Mr.  Stephenson's  locomotives  had  been  tried  and  proved 
practical,  although  as  yet  not  a  saving  in  the  expense 
of  transportation.  But  Mr.  Stephenson's  views  pre- 
vailed, and  when  the  road  was  finished,  on  the  27th  of 
September,  1825,  he  had  three  engines  ready  for  its  use, 
They  were  built  at  his  works,  the  first  ever  established 
for  locomotive  manufacture.  The  Active,  No.  1,  was 
the  first  built  at  this  establishment.  A  great  deal  of 
excitement  and  speculation  arose  throughout  the  coun- 
try when  the  trial-day  approached.  The  road  was 
ready,  as  we  have  stated.  Great  crowds  were  assem- 
bled from  every  direction  to  witness  the  trial ;  some, 
more  sanguine,  came  to  witness  its  success,  but  far  the 
greater  portion  came  to  see  the  bubble  burst.  The 
proceedings  began  at  Brusselton  incline,  where  the  sta- 
tionary engine  drew  a  train  up  the  incline  on  one  side 


56  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA. 

and  lowered  it  down  on  the  other.  These  wagons  were 
loaded. 

At  the  foot  of  this  plane  a  locomotive,  driven  by 
Mr.  Stephenson  himself,  was  attached  to  the  train.  It 
consisted  of  six  wagons  loaded  with  coal  and  flour,  next 
a  passenger-coach  (the  first  ever  run  upon  a  railroad) 
filled  with  the  directors  and  their  friends,  then  twenty- 
one  wagons  fitted  up  with  temporary  seats  for  passengers, 
and  lastly  came  six  wagons  loaded  with  coal,  making 
in  all  twenty-eight  vehicles.  The  word  being  given 
that  all  was  ready,  the  engine  "began  to  move,  gradually 
at  first,  but  afterward,  in  parts  of  the  road,  attained  a 
speed  of  twelve  miles  an  hour.  At  that  time  the  num- 
ber of  passengers  amounted  to  450,  which  would,  with 
the  remainder  of  the  load,  amount  to  upward  of  ninety 
tons.  The  train  arrived  at  Darlington,  eight  and  three- 
quarter  miles,  in  sixty -five  minutes.  Here  it  was 
stopped,  and  a  fresh  supply  of  water  was  obtained,  and 
the  six  coal-cars  for  Darlington  detached,  and  the  word 
given  to  go  ahead.  The  engine  started,  and  arrived  at 
Stockton,  twelve  miles,  in  three  hours  seven  minutes, 
including  stoppages. 

By  the  time  the  train  reached  Stockton,  the  number 
of  passengers  amounted  to  over  600. 

We  will  here  mention  that,  when  this  road  was  first 
contemplated,  its  projectors  did  not  estimate  the  amount 
of  coal  that  would  be  transported  over  it  above  10,000 
tons  per  annum ;  but  before  a  very  few  years  had  elapsed, 
from  the  facilities  offered  by  the  railroad  system,  with 
locomotives  instead  of  horse-power,  the  amount  of  coal 
transported  annually  amounted  to  500,000  tons,  and  has 
since  exceeded  that  amount.  At  this  trial  experiment, 
September  27,  1825,  the  first  passenger-car,  or  wagon 
as  it  was  called  at  that  day,  was  put  upon  the  road.     It 


FIRST  TRAINS.  57 

had  been  ordered  and  made  at  Mr.  Stephenson's  works, 
and  had  only  arrived  the  day  before  the  trial.  It  was 
the  vehicle  in  which  the  directors  and  their  friends  rode 
upon  the  occasion.  Although  built  by  Mr.  Stephenson, 
it  was  a  very  modest  and  uncouth-looking  affair,  made 
more  for  strength  than  for  beauty.  A  row  of  seats  ran 
along  each  side  of  the  interior,  and  a  long  table  was 
fixed  in  the  centre,  the  access  being  by  a  doorway  be- 
hind, like  an  omnibus  of  the  present  day.  This  vehicle 
was  named  the  Experiment,  and  was  the  only  carriage 
for  passengers  upon  the  road  for  some  time.  It  was, 
however,  the  forerunner  of  a  mighty  traffic,  and  soon 
after  new  and  more  improved  passenger-carriages  were 
introduced  upon  the  road,  all  at  first  drawn  by  horses. 

Fig.  3. 


THE   FIBST   EAILWAT   OOAOH. 


The  Experiment  was  first  regularly  put  upon  the 
road  for  passenger  use  on  the  10th  of  October,  1825.  It 
was  drawn  by  one  horse,  and  performed  a  journey  each 
way  daily  between  the  two  towns,  twelve  miles,  in  two 
hours.     This  novel  way  of  travelling  soon  became  popu- 


58  HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

lar  among  the  people,  and  eventually  proved  so  lucra- 
tive and  extensive,  that  the  carriage  could  not  contain 
the  number  of  applicants  for  a  ride.  Inside  and  outside 
it  was  crowded,  and  every  available  spot  was  occupied. 
The  Experiment,  however,  was  not  worked  by  the 
railroad  company  as  passenger-cars  are  now,  but  was 
let  to  other  parties,  they  paying  a  certain  toll  for  the 
use  of  the  road.  It  soon  became  a  lucrative  business, 
and  hotel-keepers  and  others  embarked  in  the  enter- 
prise, and  a  strong  opposition  was  raised  up  between 
the  rival  owners  or  companies.  The  old  carnage,  the 
Experiment,  was  found  too  heavy  for  one  horse ;  a  new 
one  was  placed  in  its  stead,  and  the  old  pioneer  was 
afterward  used  as  a  railroad  cabin  near  Shildon.  To 
the  driver  of  the  old  Experiment  the  first  introduction 
of  lights  being  used  in  passenger-cars,  for  the  comfort  of 
passengers,  is  due.  This  honest  and  considerate  driver, 
whose  name  was  Dixon,  nightly  purchased  a  penny 
candle,  and  when  he  was  belated  and  it  became  dark  in 
the  carriage,  he  would  light  his  candle  and  stick  it  upon 
the  table  running  along  the  centre  of  the  carriage,  be- 
tween the  two  rows  of  seats,  which  added  much  to  the 
comfort  of  his  patrons. 

At  that  time  the  transportation  of  freight,  like  that 
of  passengers,  was  not  confined  to  the  company  alone. 
According  to  their  charters,  railroads  were  public  high- 
ways. Any  individual  or  company  had  the  right  of 
using  the  road  with  their  own  private  wagons  on  pay- 
ing a  certain  stipulated  toll  affixed  by  law.  Like  the 
passenger- carriages,  private  individuals  owned  freight- 
wagons  for  the  transportation  of  produce  or  their  own 
manufactures  to  market,  and  used  the  road  for  the  pur- 
pose. This  traffic,  like  the  passenger  transportation, 
soon  led  to  confusion  and  delays.     Being  a  single-track 


FIRST  TRAINS.  59 

road,  with  only  occasional  sidings  or  turnonts  here  and 
there  apon  its  ronte,  the  carriages  often  met  upon  the 
way,  going  in  opposite  directions.  Then  would  begin 
a  violent  contest  "between  the  rival  drivers,  not  only  in 
words,  but  sometimes  resulting  in  blows,  to  determine 
who  should  back  to  the  siding  and  turn  off  to  allow  the 
other  to  pass.  In  these  contests  not  unfrequently  the 
passengers  would  take  sides  with  their  respective 
drivers,  and  scenes  of  riot  and  pugilistic  displays  were 
often  the  result  of  these  contests,  until  one  party  or  the 
other  would  be  compelled  to  succumb.  After  a  while 
this  difficulty  was  somewhat  diminished  by  the  opposi- 
tion parties  coming  to  a  kind  of  understanding  that, 
in  meeting  upon  the  track,  the  carriage  containing  the 
lightest  load  should  back  off  to  the  nearest  siding ;  and 
finally  it  became  a  fixed  rule  that,  whichever  carriage 
arrived  last  at  the  half-way  post,  planted  between  the 
two  sidings,  should  back  off  to  allow  the  other  to  pass. 
This  plan,  though  it  tended  in  a  great  measure  to  render 
less  frequent  these  difficulties  and  contests,  subjected 
the  working  of  the  road  to  much  trouble  and  delay, 
so  that  these  private  enterprises  were  superseded  by 
the  company  commencing  the  regular  passenger  trans- 
portation system,  which  by  that  time  became  a  source  of 
much  importance  in  the  traffic  upon  the  road,  and  must 
be  considered  as  the  first  introduction  of  this  source  of 
profit  upon  all  railroads  of  our  time,  exceeding,  in  many 
cases,  the  income  from  the  freight  department. 


60  HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA 

CHAPTER    X. 

FIRST    DELIBERATIONS     ON    RAILROADS. 

When  the  construction  of  that  great  work,  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railroad,  was  commenced, 
and  even  after  it  had  been  in  progress  for  several  years, 
its  directors  had  not  determined  the  motive  power  to 
be  employed  upon  it.  Horse-power  had  the  strongest 
advocates.  Another  method,  and  one  having  a  number 
of  advocates,  was  that  of  stationary  engines  to  draw  the 
trains  along.  By  this  method  the  line  of  road  over 
which  the  transport  is  conducted  is  divided  into  a  num- 
ber of  short  sections,  at  the  extremity  of  each  of  which 
an  engine  is  placed.  The  wagons  or  carriages,  when 
drawn  by  any  one  of  these  engines  to  its  own  station, 
are  detached  and  connected  with  the  extremity  of  the 
chain  worked  by  the  next  stationary  engine,  and  thus 
the  journey  is  performed  from  station  to  station  by 
separate  engines.  It  was  proposed  to  divide  the  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester  road  into  nineteen  stations,  or 
sections  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  each,  with  twenty- 
one  engines  fixed  at  the  different  points  to  work  the 
chains  forward.  Not  a  single  professional  man  of  any 
eminence  could  be  found  who  preferred  the  locomotive 
over  the  fixed-engine  power  as  above,  George  Stephenson 
only  excepted.  He  stuck  to  the  locomotive-power ;  and 
finally  committees  were  appointed  at  his  suggestion  to 
witness  the  performance  of  his  locomotives  employed 
in  hauling  coal  upon  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Rail- 
road. The  report  from  the  chairman  of  one  of  these 
committees  states  that,  "  although  it  would  be  practica- 
ble to  go  at  any  speed  that  the  size  of  the  wheel  and  the 


FIRST  DELIBERATIONS  ON  RAILROADS.  6] 

number  of  strokes  in  the  engine  might  allow,  yet  it 
would  not  "be  safe  to  go  at  a  greater  rate  than  nine  or 
ten  miles  an  hour."  This  was  considered  a  very  high 
rate  of  speed  in  those  days.  The  completion  of  the 
road  was  fast  drawing  nigh.  The  great  tunnel  at 
Liverpool  was  finished;  a  firm  road  over  Cheat-Moss 
was  completed ;  and  yet  the  directors  had  not  settled  in 
their  minds  what  power  was  to  be  used  upon  the  road. 
Prejudice  still  existed  against  the  use  of  locomotives. 
The  road  had  been  constructed  throughout  its  entire 
length  in  a  most  substantial  manner,  and  cost  upward 
of  £20,000  per  mile,  amounting  to  £820,000.  The  rails 
used  were  made  of  forged  iron,  in  lengths  of  fifteen  feet 
each,  and  weighed  175  lbs.  each.  At  the  distance  of 
every  three  feet  the  rail  rests  on  blocks  of  stone,  let  into 
the  ground  and  containing  about  four  cubic  feet  each. 
Into  each  block,  two  holes,  six  inches  deep  and  one  inch 
in  diameter,  are  drilled;  into  these  are  driven  oak 
plugs,  and  the  cast-iron  chairs  into  which  the  rails  are 
fitted  are  spiked  down  to  the  plugs,  forming  a  structure 
of  great  solidity,  and  in  every  respect  calculated  for  any  J 
power  that  might  be  determined  upon  by  the  Board. 

Finally,  in  the  spring  of  1829,  the  directors  ap- 
pointed Messrs.  Stephenson  and  Lock,  and  Messrs. 
Walker  and  Eastrick,  experienced  engineers,  to  visit 
the  different  railways  where  practical  information  re- 
specting the  comparative  effects  of  stationary  and  loco- 
motive engines  could  be  obtained;  and  from  these 
gentlemen  they  received  reports  on  the  relative  merits 
of  the  two  methods,  according  to  their  judgment.  The 
result  of  the  comparison  of  the  two  systems  was,  that 
the  capital  necessary  to  be  advanced  to  establish  a  line 
of  stationary  engines  was  considered  greater  than  that 
which  was  necessary  to  construct  an  equal  power  in 


62  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

locomotives;  that  the  annual  expense  for  maintaining 
the  stationary  engines  was  likewise  greater  than  for  the 
locomotives,  and  consequently  the  expense  of  transpor- 
tation by  a  stationary  system  was  greater  in  like  propor- 
tion. The  system  of  locomotive-power,  therefore,  was 
entitled  to  the  preference.  Yet  another  consideration 
influenced  the  directors  in  its  favor,  which  was  this: 
Should  an  accident  occur  on  any  part  of  the  railroad 
worked  by  stationary  engines,  a  suspension  of  work 
along  the  entire  road  would  be  involved  in  the  conse- 
quences ;  accidents  arising  from  the  fracture  of  any  of 
the  chairs,  or  from  any  derangement  in  the  working  of 
any  of  the  fixed  engines,  would  effectually  stop  the 
intercourse  along  the  entire  line;  while  in  the  use  of 
locomotive-power  an  accident  could  only  affect  the  par- 
ticular train  of  carriages  drawn  by  the  engine  to  which 
the  mishap  might  occur.  "  The  one  system,"  says  Mr. 
Walker,  in  his  report,  "  is  like  a  chain  extending  from 
Liverpool  to  Manchester,  the  failure  of  a  single  link  of 
which  would  destroy  the  whole ;  while  the  other  (the 
locomotive  system)  is  like  a  number  of  short  and 
unconnected  chains,  the  destruction  of  any  one  of  which 
does  not  interfere  with  the  effect  of  the  others,  and  the 
loss  of  which  may  be  supplied  by  others  with  facility." 
However,  to  determine  the  matter,  a  prize  was  offered 
by  the  directors  of  £500  for  a  locomotive  which 
should  be  produced  by  a  certain  day,  and  perform  a 
certain  duty,  as  follows : 

1.  The  engine  must  effectually  consume  its  own  smoke. 

2.  The  engine,  if  of  six  tons'  weight,  must  be  able  to  draw  after 
it,  day  by  day,  twenty  tons'  weight,  including  the  tender  and 
water-tank,  at  ten  miles  an  hour,  with  a  pressure  of  steam  upon 
the  boiler  not  exceeding  fifty  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

3.  The  boiler  must  have  two  safty-valves,  neither  of  which 


FIRST  DELIBERATIONS   ON  RAILROADS.  63 

must  be  fastened  down  and  one  of  them  completely  out  of  the 
control  of  the  engineer. 

4.  The  engine  and  boiler  must  be  supported  upon  springs  and 
rest  on  six  wheels,  the  height  of  the  whole  not  exceeding  fifteen 
feet  to  the  top  of  the  chimney. 

5.  The  engine  with  water  must  not  weigh  more  than  six  tons, 
but  an  engine  of  less  weight  would  be  preferred,  although  draw- 
ing a  proportionally  less  load  behind  it ;  if  of  only  four  and  one- 
half  tons,  it  might  be  put  on  four  wheels. 

6.  A  mercurial  gauge  must  be  affixed  to  the  machine,  showing 
the  steam-pressure  about  forty-five  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

7  The  engine  must  be  delivered,  complete  and  ready  for  trial, 
at  the  Liverpool  end  of  the  railway,  not  later  than  October  1, 
1829. 

8.  The  price  of  the  engine  not  to  exceed  £550. 

The  project  and  the  conditions  were  thought  to  "be 
preposterous.  An  eminent  gentleman  of  Liverpool, 
afterward  inspector  of  steam-packets,  said  that  "  only  a 
parcel  of  charlatans  would  have  issued  such  a  set  of 
conditions ; "  that  it  had  been  "  proved  to  be  impossible 
to  make  a  locomotive-engine  to  go  ten  miles  an  hour ; 
but,  if  it  was  ever  done,  he  would  undertake  to  eat  a 
stewed  engine- wheel  for  his  breakfast ! " 

The  Stephenson  locomotive  factory  was  still  in 
operation  at  Newcastle,  but  for  a  long  time  it  did  not 
pay  expenses.  Mr.  Stephenson  now  set  about  the  con- 
struction of  his  far-famed  engine  the  Rocket,  to  contend 
for  the  prize  just  offered  by  the  Liverpool  and  Manches- 
ter railroad  directors.  As  the  name  of  Mr.  Stephen- 
son's Eocket  is  familiar  in  the  mind  of  every  railroad 
engineer  and  machinist  of  the  present  day,  we  will  de- 
scribe it,  for  the  information  of  all  who  feel  interested 
in  the  subject:  The  boiler  of  this  new  engine  was 
cylindrical  in  form,  with  flat  ends;  it  was  six  feet  in 
length  and  three  feet  in  diameter,  the  upper  half  of  the 
boiler  used  as  a  reservoir  for  the  steam,  the  lower  half 


64 


HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IX  AMERICA. 


"being  filled  with  water ;  through  this  lower  part  twenty- 
five  copper  tubes  three  inches  in  diameter  extended 
with  both  ends  open,  one  presented  to  the  furnace  or 
fire-box,  and  the  other  end  opening  into  the  chimney. 
The  fire-box,  two  feet  wide  and  three  feet  high,  attached 
immediately  behind  the  boiler,  was  also  surrounded 
with  water.  The  cylinders,  two  in  number,  were  placed 
on  each  side  of  the  boiler  in  an  oblique  position,  the 
one  end  being  nearly  even  with  the  top  of  the  boiler,  and 
the  other  end  pointing  toward  the  centre  of  the  foremost 
driving  pair  of  wheels,  with  which  the  connection  was 
made  from  the  piston-rod  by  a  pin  to  the  outside  of 
the  wheel. 

Fig.  4. 


THE   SOCKET  LOCOMOTrYE. 


The  Eocket  with  its  load  of  water  weighed  only  four 
and  one-quarter  tons,  and  was  supported  upon  four 


COMPETITION  FOR  PRIZES.  65 

wheels  (not  coupled).  The  tender  was  four- wheeled,  and 
similar  in  shape  to  a  wagon ;  the  foremost  part  contained 
the  fuel,  and  the  hinder  part  a  water-cask. 

The  engine,  when  completed,  was  shipped  to  Liver- 
pool and  ready  for  the  trial,  with  the  most  sanguine 
expectations  of  Mr.  Stephenson  of  its  success. 


CHAPTEE    XI. 

COMPETITION     FOR     PRIZES. 

A  great  interest  was  manifested  at  Liverpool  and 
throughout  the  country  at  the  approaching  competition. 
Engineers  and  scientific  men  arrived  from  all  quarters 
of  the  world,  to  witness  the  trial  of  mechanical  skill 
about  to  "be  displayed. 

On  the  day  appointed  the  following  engines  were 
upon  the  spot,  and  entered  for  the  prize : 

The  Novelty,  made  "by  Messrs.  Braithwait  and  Ericsson. 
The  Saists-paeeil,  made  by  Mr.  Timothy  Hockworth. 
The  Rocket,  made  by  Messrs.  Stephenson  and  Co.,  Newcastle. 
The  Peesevebahce,  made  by  Mr.  Burtstall. 

The  day  of  trial  was  changed  from  the  1st  to  the 
6th  of  October,  in  order  to  give  the  new  engines  time  to 
get  in  good  working-order.  Many  thousand  spectators 
were  present.  The  Rocket,  although  not  the  first 
entered,  was,  nevertheless,  the  first  ready  for  the  trial. 
The  piece  of  road  to  be  used  for  the  occasion  was  two 
miles  in  length,  upon  which  the  locomotives  were  to 
travel  to  and  fro.  The  distance  run  by  the  Rocket 
was  about   twelve   miles  in  fifty-three  minutes.     The 


66  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

Novelty  was  next  tried.  It  was  a  very  complicated 
machine,  carrying  the  water  and  fuel  upon  the  same 
wheels  as  the  engine,  and  the  whole  weighed  three  tons 
one  hundred  lbs.  On  account  of  some  difficulty  in  de- 
termining the  load  she  was  to  draw,  she  was  not  tested 
like  the  Rocket,  but  was  run  over  the  road,  making 
sometimes  twenty-four  miles  per  hour. 

Fig.  5. 


THE   NOVELTY   LOCOMOTIVE. 


The  Sans-pareil  was  next  tried,  but  no  particular 
experiment  was  made  on  that  clay. 

The  contest  was  postponed  until  the  following  day, 
but,  before  the  judges  arrived  upon  the  ground,  the 
bellows  for  creating  the  draught  or  blast  in  the  Novelty 
gave  way,  and  it  was  incapable  of  going  through  its 
performance.  A  defect  was  also  discovered  in  the 
boiler  of  the  Sans-pareil,  and  time  was  allowed  to  get 
it  repaired.  Meantime,  Mr.  Stephenson,  to  lessen  the 
disappointment  to  the  vast  crowd  assembled  to  witness 
these  experiments  by  the  delay,  brought  out  the  Rocket 
and  attached  it  to  a  coach  containing  thirty  persons, 
and  ran  it  along  the  road  at  the  rate  of  from  twenty-six 


COMPETITION   FOR   PRIZES. 


G7 


to  thirty  miles  an  hour,  much  to  the  delight  and  gratifi- 
cation of  the  spectators.  The  judges  then  ordered  the 
Rocket  to  be  in  readiness  the  following  morning  to  go 
through  its  trial  according  to  the  prescribed  conditions. 


Fig.  6. 


THE   SANS-PAEEIL  LOCOMOTIVE. 


On  the  morning  of  October  8,  1829,  the  Rocket  was 
again  upon  the  road  for  the  contest.  The  fire-box  was 
filled  with  coke,  the  fire  lighted,  and  the  steam  raised 
until  it  lifted  the  safety-valve  loaded  to  the  pressure  of 
fifty  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  These  preparations 
occupied  fifty-seven  minutes.  The  engine  being  start- 
ed on  its  journey,  dragged  after  it  thirteen  tons'  weight 


68  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

in  carriages  or  wagons,  and  made  the  first  ten  trips 
backward  and  forward  npon  the  two  miles  of  the  road, 
running  the  thirty-five  miles,  including  stoppages,  in 
one  hour  and  forty-eight  minutes. 

The  second  ten  trips  were  in  like  manner  accom- 
plished in  two  hours  and  three  minutes.  The  maximum 
velocity  of  the  Rocket  during  the  trial-trip  was  about 
twenty-nine  miles  an  hour,  or  three  times  the  speed 
that  one  of  the  judges  had  declared  to  be  the  limit  of 
possibility. 

Neither  the  Novelty  nor  the  Sans-pareil  was  ready 
for  trial  until  the  10th.  The  weight  of  carriages  at- 
tached to  the  Novelty  was  only  seven  tons.  In  start- 
ing, the  engine  went  off  in  fine  style  for  the  two  miles, 
but,  on  returning,  the  pipe  for  the  forcing-pump  burst 
and  put  an  end  to  the  trial.  The  pipe  having  been  re- 
paired, the  engine  made  a  trial-trip,  without  a  load,  and 
is  said  to  have  run  from  twenty-four  to  twenty-eight 
miles  an  hour. 

The  Sans-pareil  was  not  ready  until  the  13th,  and, 
when  the  boiler  and  tender  were  filled  with  water,  it 
weighed  400  lbs.  beyond  the  prescribed  conditions  of 
four-wheel  engines ;  but  nevertheless  the  judges  allowed 
it  to  run  upon  the  same  footing  as  the  others,  and  it 
travelled  at  the  average  speed  of  fourteen  miles  an  hour, 
with  its  load  ;  but  at  the  eighth  trip  the  cold-water  pipe 
got  out  of  order,  and  it  could  proceed  no  farther.  It 
was  then  determined  by  the  judges  to  award  the  prize 
to  the  successful  engine  on  the  following  day,  October 
14th. 

When  the  trial  commenced,  the  Novelty  again  broke 
down.  The  builder  of  the  Sans-pareil  requested  an 
other  trial,  but  the  judges  decided  that  she  was  be- 
yond the  prescribed  weight,  and  besides  consumed  and 


COMPETITION  FOR  PRIZES.  69 

wasted  too  mucli  coke  to  make  her  a  successful  com- 
petitor, using  692  lbs.  of  coke  per  hour  when  running. 

The  Perseverance  was  then  tried  for  the  first  time, 
and  found  unable  to  move  more  than  five  or  six  miles 
an  hour. 

The  Eocket  was  the  only  engine  that  had  performed 
all  the  stipulated  conditions,  and  the  prize  of  £500  was 
accordingly  awarded  to  its  makers.  The  Rocket  had 
eclipsed  all  other  engines  that  had  as  yet  been  con- 
structed, and  determined  the  question  of  the  use  of 
locomotive  power  upon  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
Railroad. 

Our  narrative  now  brings  us  down  to  the  period 
when  locomotives  were  first  introduced  into  the  United 
States,  a.  d.  1829.  Two  important  railroads  had  been 
commenced,  and  were  in  successful  working-order,  as 
far  as  they  had  been  built.  But  horse-power  upon 
levels,  and  stationary  engines  upon  steep  inclines,  were 
the  only  powers  resorted  to.  Locomotives  had  not  yet 
been  introduced.  The  experiments  in  England  had 
been  heard  of  in  this  country,  and  were  frequently 
discussed  by  those  interested  in  the  success  of  rail- 
roads. The  experiments  of  Mr.  Stephenson  had  been 
carefully  watched.  His  name  and  fame,  as  an  eminent 
engineer,  were  familiar  to  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
this  country.  His  success  with  his  "  Rocket  "  excited 
the  liveliest  interest  here,  and  equally  as  much  so  as  in 
England.  His  bearing  off  the  £500  prize  was  hailed 
with  rapture  by  thousands  in  America,  who  admired 
him  for  his  genius  and  indomitable  perseverance. 

We  will  now  leave  Mr.  Stephenson  and  his  improve- 
ments in  England,  and  turn  to  the  period  of  1829,  in 
the  United  States,  when,  although,  as  before  said,  two 
important  railroads  and  two  coal-roads  were  in  success- 


70  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

ful  progress,  or  in  operation  in  different  sections  of  the 
country,  yet,  as  in  England  in  its  earliest  day,  for  min- 
ing purposes,  only  horse-power  was  used,  and  no  attempt 
had  "been  made  to  construct  a  locomotive,  nor  had  one 
been  imported  from  abroad. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

EAILROADS     IN     AMERICA. 

The  first  railroad  built  in  the  United  States  was 
three  miles  in  length,  extending  from  the  granite-quar- 
ries of  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  to  the  Neponset  River. 
This  road  was  commenced  in  1826,  and  completed  in 
1827.  It  was  built  with  granite  sleepers,  seven  and  a 
half  feet  long,  laid  eight  feet  apart.  The  rails,  five 
feet  apart,  were  of  pine,  a  foot  deep,  covered  with  an 
oak  plate,  and  these  with  flat  bars  of  iron. 

The  second  railroad  was  commenced  in  January, 
1827,  and  completed  in  May  of  the  same  year,  extend- 
ing from  the  coal-mines  in  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania, 
to  the  Lehigh  River,  a  distance  of  nine  miles.  From 
the  summit  of  the  road,  and  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
mines,  the  descent  by  a  plane  was  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-two  feet,  inclined  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
feet  to  the  river,  and  thence  twenty-five  feet  in  a  shute 
to  the  spot  where  the  cars  were  discharged  into  the 
boats.  The  cars  descended  by  gravity  with  the  loaded 
wagons,  and  were  drawn  up  again  by  mules.  The 
rails  of  the  road  were  of  timber,  laid  on  wooden  sleep- 
ers, and  strapped  with  flat  iron  bars. 


KAILKOADS  IN  AMEKICA.  71 

In  1828  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company 
constructed  a  railroad  from  their  coal-mines  to  Hones- 
dale,  the  termination  of  their  canal.  The  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Bailroad  and  the  South  Carolina  Eailroad  were 
also  commenced  in  the  same  year. 

It  is  said  that  at  the  time  (1812)  when  De  Witt 
Clinton  was  urging  the  passage,  through  the  Legislature 
of  New  York,  of  the  act  for  the  construction  of  the  Erie 
Canal,  Colonel  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  astonished  that 
body  by  announcing  that  he  could  build  a  railroad  at 
a  much  less  cost  than  the  proposed  canal,  and  on  which 
the  transportation,  by  means  of  cars  drawn  by  steam 
locomotives,  could  be  carried  on  at  a  considerably 
cheaper  rate,  and  at  a  much  higher  degree  of  speed  than 
was  possible  on  any  canal.  He  laid  before  them  the 
results  of  his  numerous  and  long-continued  researches, 
but  his  enemies  openly  laughed  at  him,  and  called  him 
a  maniac,  and  even  some  of  his  best  friends  regarded 
him  as  a  man  who  had  lost  himself  in  experimental 
science.  Had  he  lived  in  the  days  of  poor  Solomon  de 
Cause  or  of  Friar  Bacon,  he  would  probably,  like  those 
eminent  men,  have  been  consigned  to  a  dungeon.  The 
nineteenth  century  contented  itself  with  sneering  at 
him  as  a  visionary,  and  refused  to  entertain  his  propo- 
sitions. His  distinguished,  wise,  and  sensible  friend, 
Chancellor  Livingston,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Stevens, 
dated  at  Albany,  March  2d,  1811,  only  a  year  before, 
expresses  his  opinion  of  the  railroad  locomotive  schemes 
of  which  his  friend  was  so  strenuous  an  advocate.  The 
chancellor  thus  writes : 

"I  had  before  read  of  your  very  ingenious  proposition  as  to 
railway  communication.  I  fear,  however,  on  mature  reflection, 
that  they  will  be  liable  to  serious  objections,  and  ultimately  prove 
more  expensive  than  a  canal.      They  must   be  double,  so  as  to 


72  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

prevent  the  danger  of  two  such  heavy  bodies  meeting.  The  wall 
on  which  they  are  placed  must  be  at  least  four  feet  below  the 
surface,  to  avoid  frost,  and  three  feet  above,  to  avoid  snow,  and 
must  be  clasped  with  iron,  and  even  then  would  hardly  sustain  so 
heavy  a  weight  as  you  propose  moving  at  the  rate  of  four  miles 
an  hour  on  wheels.  As  to  wood,  it  would  not  last  a  week.  They 
must  be  covered  with  iron,  and  that,  too,  very  thick  and  strong. 
The  means  of  stopping  these  heavy  carriages  without  a  great 
shock,  and  of  preventing  them  from  running  on  each  other — for 
there  would  be  many  running  on  the  road  at  once — would  be  very 
difficult.  In  case  of  accidental  stops  or  necessary  stays  to  take 
wood  or  water,  etc.,  many  accidents  would  happen.  The  carriage 
of  condensing  water  would  be  very  troublesome.  Upon  the  whole, 
I  fear  the  expense  would  be  much  greater  than  that  of  canals, 
without  being  so  convenient." 

And  yet,  only  fourteen  years  afterward,  such  was 
the  rapid  development  of  the  steam  locomotive,  the 
Legislature  of  the  same  State  granted  a  charter  incor- 
porating the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad,  a  line, 
seventeen  miles  long,  running  between  Albany  and 
Schenectady;  and  there  are  now  no  less  than  three 
thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  miles  of  railway 
in  the  State  of  New  York  alone. 

Next  to  Colonel  Stevens,  and  as  early  as  1819,  we 
have  in  the  United  States  another  advocate  for  railroads, 
with  steam  locomotion.  We  learn,  by  an  extract  from  the 
current  news  of  that  day,  copied  from  a  literary  paper 
called  Tlie  Villager,  that  the  following  memorial  was 
presented  to  Congress  at  the  previous  session,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Commerce  and  Manu- 
factures.    The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  document : 

"  The  memorial  of  Benjamin  Dearborn,  of  Boston,  respectfully 
represents  that  he  has  devised  in  theory  a  mode  of  propelling 
wheel-carriages  in  a  manner  probably  unknown  in  any  country ; 
and  has  perfectly  satisfied  his  own  mind  of  the  practicability  of 


RAILROADS   IN  AMERICA.  73 

conveying  mails  and  passengers  with  such  celerity  as  has  never 
before  been  accomplished,  and  with  complete  security  from  rob- 
beries on  the  highway. 

"  For  obtaining  these  results,  he  relies  on  carriages  propelled  by 
steam,  on  level  railroads,  and  contemplates  that  they  be  furnished 
with  accommodations  for  passengers  to  take  their  meals  and  their 
rest  during  the  passage,  as  in  packets ;  that  they  be  sufficiently 
high  for  persons  to  walk  in  without  stooping,  and  so  capacious 
as  to  accommodate  twenty,  thirty,  or  more  passengers,  with  their 


"  The  inequalities  of  the  earth's  surface  will  require  levels  of 
various  elevations  in  the  railroads ;  and  your  memorialist  has 
devised  means  which  he  believes  will  be  completely  effectual  for  lift- 
ing the  carriage,  by  the  inherent  power  of  its  machinery,  from  one 
level  to  another,  as  also  for  the  passage  of  carriages  by  each  other, 
on  the  same  road;  and  he  feels  confident  that  whenever  such  an 
establishment  shall  be  advanced  to  its  most  improved  state,  the 
carriages  will  move  with  a  rapidity  at  least  equal  to  a  mile  in 
three  minutes. 

"  Protection  from  the  attacks  of  assailants  will  be  insured ;  not 
only  by  the  celerity  of  the  movement,  but  by  weapons  of  defence 
belonging  to  the  carriage,  and  always  kept  ready  in  it  to  be 
wielded  by  the  number  of  passengers  constantly  travelling  in 
this  spacious  vehicle,  where  they  would  have  liberty  to  stand  erect, 
and  to  exercise  their  arms  in  their  own  defence. 

"  The  practicability  of  running  steam-carriages  on  the  common 
road  was  long  since  advocated  in  a  publication,  by  that  ingenious 
and  useful  citizen,  Oliver  Evans :  your  memorialist,  therefore,  does 
not  assume  the  merit  of  originating  the  idea  of  steam-carriages, 
but  only  of  modifying  the  system  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce 
the  results  here  stated,  which  could  not  be  effected  on  a  common 
road. 

"  Relying  upon  the  candor  of  the  national  council,  this  memo- 
rial is  laid  before  them  with  the  desire  that  ingenious  and  scientific 
artists,  in  the  different  sections  of  our  country  may  be  consulted, 
by  direction  of  Congress,  on  the  probability  of  accomplishing  the 
purposes  here  anticipated;  and  that  an  experiment  be  made,  if 
sanctioned  by  their  favorable  opinions ;  for  if  the  design  can  be 
put  into  successful  operation  by  the  Government,  a  great  revenue 
would  eventually  be  derived  from  the  establishment,  besides  the 
advantages  before  enumerated." 


74  HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

We  never  have  heard  that  any  report  was  made  by 
the  committee  respecting  it ;  yet  all  these  results  have 
been  signally  realized  within  a  little  more  than  a 
third  of  a  century. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

FIRST   ENGLISH    LOCOMOTIVE   BROUGHT    TO    AMERICA. 

The  competition  in  England  for  the  £500  prize 
attracted  many  distinguished  engineers,  scientific  men, 
and  enterprising  gentlemen,  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
to  witness  the  contest.  Among  the  engineers  from 
America  was  Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  late  assistant  engi- 
neer upon  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  and  Rail- 
road, who  was  on  a  trip  to  England  to  examine  into 
the  improvements  in  the  new  mode  of  intercommunica- 
tion. Another  enterprising  gentleman  from  America, 
who  went  out  expressly  to  witness  these  experiments, 
was  Mr.  E.  L.  Miller,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 
Of  this  gentleman  we  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to 
speak  more  fully.  While  in  Europe,  Mr.  Horatio  Allen 
was  appointed  by  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  the  chief  engi- 
neer of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  and  Railroad 
Company,  to  contract  for  the  iron  for  the  road  just 
graded,  and  also  for  three  locomotives.  Mr.  Allen  was 
an  excellent  person  for  this  important  duty,  as  Mr. 
Jervis  well  knew,  having  been  associated  with  him  in 
the  construction  of  the  road ;  he  was  an  engineer  of  dis- 
tinction and  experience.  We  shall  have  to  speak  of 
him  hereafter,  in  connection  with  the  running  of  the 


FIRST   ENGLISH   LOCOMOTIVE.  75 

first  locomotive  imported  and  put  upon  a  railroad  in 
America. 

In  this  work  the  author  has  promised  to  substan- 
tiate every  position  he  may  assume,  by  giving  to  the 
readers  all  the  evidence  upon  which  his  statements 
are  based,  and  thereby  enable  them  to  judge  for  them- 
selves as  to  the  correctness  of  his  history. 

On  this  visit  of  Mr.  Allen  to  England,  he  purchased 
for  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  and  Railroad 
Company  three  locomotives.  The  "  Stourbridge  Lion  " 
was  one  of  these,  and  the  first,  which  soon  after  arrived 
in  New  York.  Its  performances  in  the  yard  of  the 
works  where  it  was  landed  (the  West  Point  Foundery 
Works,  foot  of  Beach  Street)  were  witnessed  by  thou- 
sands, attracted  by  the  novelty  of  the  machine.  In  a 
letter  addressed  to  the  author  by  David  Matthew,  Esq., 
late  of  Philadelphia,  who  resided  in  New  York  in  1829, 
and  had  charge  of  the  men  while  fitting  up  the  machin- 
ery in  the  shops  of  the  West  Point  Foundery  Associa- 
tion, to  whom  the  author  had  addressed  a  letter  making 
some  inquiries,  he  writes : 

"  Philadelphia,  December  6,  1859. 

"Me.  Wm.  H.  Brown— 

"Deab  Sie  :  Yours  of  the  20th  November  is  received,  inquir- 
ing about  the  first  locomotive  imported  into  this  country;  the  first 
built  here,  and  on  what  date  and  railroad  it  was  run.  In  compli- 
ance with  your  request,  I  herewith  with  pleasure  send  you  the  fol- 
lowing history,  partly  from  memory  and  partly  from  records  and 
memoranda  upon  the  subject  in  some  documents  I  have  preserved 
among  a  file  of  old  papers  and  documents. 

"Some  time  about  the  middle  of  May,  1829,  the  locomotive 
called  the  Stourbridge  Lion  arrived  from  England,  on  the  ship 
John  Jay.  It  was  landed  at  the  wharf  of  the  "West  Point 
Foundery  Works,  foot  of  Beach  Street,  New-York  City.  This 
engine  was  in  charge  of  Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  assistant  engineer  of 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal   and  Railroad  Company.     The 


76  HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

locomotive  was  blocked  up  in  our  yard,  and  steam  put  to  it  from 
our  works,  and  it  became  the  object  of  curiosity  to  thousands  who 
visited  the  works  from  day  to  day,  to  see  the  curious  "  critter  " 
go  through  the  motions  only,  as  there  was  no  road  for  it  about  the 
premises.  After  a  short  stay  in  New  York,  about  the  1st  of  July, 
it  was  shipped  up  the  North  Kiver  to  Rondout,  for  the  Delaware 
and  Hudson  Canal  Company,  and  thence  by  canal  to  Carbondale, 
where  it  was  tried  upon  their  railroad  at  Honesdale,  run  a  few 
miles  out  upon  the  road,  then  taken  off  the  track,  the  road  not 
being  sufficiently  strong  to  carry  it.  It  was  housed  and  held  for 
sale  for  many  years." 

So  much,  at  present,  for  Mr.  Matthew's  letter  upon 
the  first  English  locomotive  in  America.  To  this 
letter,  however,  we  will  hereafter  again  refer.  Mean- 
time, for  the  information  of  such  of  our  readers  as  may 
not  be  acquainted  with  the  character  and  reputation  of 
Mr.  Matthew,  we  will  refer  to  the  following  certificates 
from  prominent  and  well-known  citizens : 

"  New  York,  March,  1831. 
"  Mr.  David  Matthew  has  served  an  apprenticeship  of  four 
years  and  eleven  months  in  the  steam-engine  factory  of  the 
West  Point  Association,  as  a  tinner  and  fitter-up,  in  course  of 
which  time  he  has  conducted  himself  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
his  employers,  and  I  recommend  him  as  a  trusty  and  good  work- 
man.       .  "Wm.  Kemble, 

"  Agent  for  the  West  Point  Association." 

"  Albany,  December  1,  1831. 
"  The  bearer,  Mr.  David  Matthew,  has  been  employed  to  run 
the  locomotive  De  Witt  Clinton  on  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Rail- 
road, since  the  opening  of  the  work.  I  have  often  been  on  the 
engine  with  him,  and  seen  much  of  his  management  and  conduct 
in  reference  to  his  business,  and  believe  him  to  be  a  sober,  indus- 
trious man,  and  well  qualified  for  such  work.  I  think  him  very 
prudent  in  managing  an  engine. 

"  John  B.  Jeevis, 
"  Chief  Engineer  Hudson  and  Mohawk  Railroad" 


FIRST  ENGLISH  LOCOMOTIVE.  77 

"Schenectady,  September  24,  1835. 
"  By  a  resolution  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Utica  and 
Schenectady    Railroad    Company,   passed    September   23,    1835, 
David  Matthew  is  employed  as  chief  locomotive  engineer,  at  a 
salary  of  one  thousand  one  hundred  dollars  per  year. 

"Wm.  C.  Young, 

"  Chief  Engineer." 

"Office  of  the  Utica  and  Schenectady  Railroad  Company. 

"  Albany,  August  29,  1842. 
"  To  whom  it  may  concern  : 

"  The  hearer,  Mr.  David  Matthew,  has  been  employed  by  the 
company  during  the  past  six  and  a  half  years,  as  chief  locomotive 
engineer  and  machinist,  and  in  all  respects  has  shown  himself 
honest,  industrious,  and  intelligent,  and  is  worthy  of  patronage  and 
confidence. 

"Erasttjs  Corning." 

These  and  many  other  evidences  of  Mr.  Matthew's 
character  and  reliability  could  be  produced,  but  the 
foregoing  will  no  doubt  be  sufficient. 

From  a  mass  of  useful  information  received  by  the 
author  in  several  letters  from  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  who 
was  in  1829  chief  engineer  of  the  Delaware  and  Hud- 
son Canal  Company,  we  make  the  following  extracts 
in  reference  to  the  arrival  of  the  first  locomotive  in 
America : 

"  Rome,  New  York,  July  11,  1810. 
"Dear  Sir:  Tours  of  the  1st  inst.  was  duly  received  ;  absence 
from  home  and  special  duties  have  delayed  my  answer.  As  it  re- 
quired the  overhauling  of  papers  forty  years  old,  it  could  not  be 
done  promptly.  The  name  of  the  first  locomotive  ordered  from  Eng- 
land, and  the  first  in  America,  was  the  Stourbridge  Lion,  and  to 
your  questions  when  and  where  it  was  landed,  I  will  refer  you  to 
the  following  letters  addressed  to  me  at  the  time,  by  Horatio 
Allen,  Esq.,  who  was  in  New- York  City  waiting  its  arrival,  and 
had  contracted  for  it  when  in  England.  On  referring  to  my  papers, 
I  find  that  the  engine  arrived  at  Rondout  on  the  way  to 
Honesdale  from  New  York,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1829.     My  recol- 


78  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

lections  are  that  it  was  put  in  motion  on  the  Carbondale  Railroad, 
at  Honesdale,  in  August,  same  year,  most  probably  the  early  part 
of  August.  This  locomotive  and  two  or  three  others  were  ob- 
tained from  Englaud  for  the  said  road,  but  only  the  Lion  was  set 
up.  It  worked  very  well,  and  no  doubt  would  have  done  good 
service,  had  the  trestle-work  (of  which  there  was  a  large  portion 
on  the  road)  been  sufficient  to  sustain  the  weight  of  the  engine  in 
working.  It  was  the  intention  of  having  engines  of  one  and  a 
quarter  ton  on  a  wheel  as  the  heaviest ;  but  the  builders  of  the 
engine  at  that  time  had  little  experience,  and  when  the  machine 
was  constructed  it  was  found  to  have  nearly  two  tons  on  a  wheel, 
and  this  the  road  was  not  designed  for.  Subsequently  the  road 
has  been  made  a  gravity  railroad,  all  the  power  in  both  directions 
being  stationary;  which  is  no  doubt  the  best  economy  for  the 
circumstances  and  nature  of  the  traffic. 

"  Mr.  Allen's  letters,  which  follow,  will  give  you  all  necessary 
facts  relative  to  the  arrival  of  the  first  locomotive  in  America. 
In  regard  to  the  present  officers  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson 
Canal  Company,  I  have  little  acquaintance  with  them ;  all  the  old 
ones  are  gone,  excepting,  perhaps,  Isaac  N.  Seymour,  who  was  for 
many  years  treasurer  (now  retired),  and  living  in  New  York. 
He  could  give  you  much  information,  by  referring  to  the  file  of 
letters  for  1829,  in  the  office  of  the  company  in  New  York, 
including  those  of  August ;  they  would  give  the  time  of  the  run- 
ning of  the  engine  at  Honesdale,  in  letters  from  Mr.  Horatio 
Allen  to  myself.  In  your  last  letter  to  me,  you  make  some  inqui- 
ries concerning  my  invention  of  the  principle  of  using  the  truck 
under  the  front  part  of  the  engine,  to  support  and  to  govern  the 
machine  in  running  curves.  I  believe  I  sent  you,  some  time  since, 
a  copy  of  my  work  upon  railway  property,  etc.  In  that  work,  com- 
mencing at  page  153,  you  will  find  all  the  information  upon  that 
subject  you  may  desire.  I  shall  only  say  here  that  I  was  the 
inventor,  and  put  in  successful  operation,  the  locomotive-truck. 

"  I  notice  that  they  are  giving  more  attention  to  it  in  England, 
where  they  heretofore  had  strong  prejudices  against  it,  and  now 
they  attribute  it,  as  a  new  thing,  to  Farlie,  who  introduced  it  in 
some  new  and  small  machinery  in  England.  All  that  Farlie  has 
done  is  simply  to  adopt  my  truck,  "Wishing  you  great  success  in 
your  undertaking,  I  am  very  truly  yours, 

"  John  B.  Jervis." 


DATE  OP  ITS  RUNNING.  79 

We  will  hereafter  notice  the  improvement  alluded  to 
by  Mr.  Jervis,  in  the  last  paragraph  of  his  highly-inter- 
resting  letter,  viz.,  the  introduction  of  the  truck  under 
the  front  part  of  the  engine.  Of  this  improvement  he 
is,  no  doubt,  the  inventor,  having  put  it  in  successful 
operation  in  this  country,  nearly  forty  years  ago,  as  we 
are  prepared  to  show,  England's  claim  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

"New  York,  May  12,  1829. 
"  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.  : 

.  .  .  .  "  We  at  length  have  something  definite  on  the 
subject  of  our  locomotive.  The  Canada,  that  sailed  from  Liver- 
pool April  15th,  arrived  this  afternoon,  and  brings  us  news  of  the 
shipment  of  our  locomotive,  on  April  8th,  on  the  John  Jay,  which 
has  not  yet  got  in,  though  it  sailed  one  week  before  the  Canada. 

"  Yours, 

"  Horatio  Allen." 

"New  Yoke,  May  17,  1829. 
"  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.  : 

.  .  .  .  "  The  John  Jay  has  arrived,  as  I  informed  you.  On 
Monday  the  engine  is  to  be  landed,  and  sent  to  Kemble's  establish- 
ment. I  hope  to  have  it  all  together  and  in  operation  by  Satur- 
day next.  Yours, 

"  Horatio  Allen." 


OHAPTEE   XIV. 

DATE    OP    ITS    ETJKNING. 

The  exact  date  of  the  arrival  and  landing  of  the  first 
English  locomotive  that  was  ever  run  upon  a  railroad 
in  America  being  now  settled  by  Mr.  Horatio  Allen's 
letters  to  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  the  next  object  of  the 
author  was  to  learn  upon  what  day  that  engine  was 
first  run  upon  a  railroad.     For  this  purpose,  by  advice 


80  HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA. 

of  Mr.  Jervis,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  0.  F.  Young,  Esq., 
the  present  general  superintendent  of  the  Delaware 
and  Hudson  Railroad  and  Canal  Company.  Previ- 
ously to  receiving  Mr.  Young's  answer,  the  author  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  Thomas  Dickson,  Esq.,  the  president 
of  the  company,  to  which  he  received  the  following 
reply. 

"Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company, 

"Scranton,  February  26,  18*70. 

"Wm.  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"Dear  Sir:  I  have. yours  of  the  19th  inst.  C.  F.  Young,  of 
Honesdale,  Pennsylvania,  our  general  superintendent,  has  been 
looking  up,  for  you,  the  matters  you  refer  to,  and  has  doubtless 
written  you  ere  this.  In  a  conversation  I  had  with  Mr.  Young,  a 
few  days  ago,  he  told  me  that  the  time  of  the  trial-trip  he  had 
found  positively  to  have  been  between  the  3d  and  8th  of  August, 
1 829.  That  it  was  in  1829,  and  on  one  of  the  days  mentioned,  there 
is  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  and  that  it  was  the  first  locomotive 
run  upon  this  continent  is  beyond  question. 

"  We  take  pleasure  in  affording  you  every  opportunity  in  mak- 
ing your  investigation ;  and,  that  there  may  be  no  mistake,  I  will 
enclose  your  letter  to  Mr.  Young,  that  his  attention  may  be  called 
to  it  again. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

" Thomas  Dickson,  President" 

Almost  the  same  mail  brought  the  long-looked-for 
letter  from  Mr.  Young ;  and,  as  he  gives  the  date  of  the 
first  day's  trial  near  to  the  consummation  of  the  author's 
desire  upon  that  subject,  we  will,  as  we  promised  our 
readers,  present  Mr.  Young's  letter,  just  as  it  was  writ- 
ten, as  every  portion  of  it  is  of  interest : 

"  Office  of  General  Superintendent, 

"  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company, 

u  Honesdale,  Pa.,  February  23,  1870. 

"Wm.  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  I  owe  you  an  apology  for  the  long  delay  in  fur- 
nishing you  what  information  I  might  be  able  to  obtain  respecting 


DATE  OF  ITS  RUNNING.  81 

the  date  of  the  experimental  trip  of  the  first  locomotive-engine 
imported  by  our  company.  I  waited  to  hear  from  a  gentleman 
who  was  to  have  examined  a  file  of  newspapers,  published  at 
Montrose,  Susquehanna  County,  in  1829 ;  but  I  have  not  yet  heard 
from  him.  I  have  not  been  able,  from  any  thing  I  can  find  in  the 
books  or  papers  of  the  company,  to  fix  the  exact  day  on  which  the 
trial-trip  took  place.  I  find  from  our  collector's  books,  at  Eddy- 
ville,  that  two  locomotive-engines  were  cleared  at  that  office,  and 
started  up  the  canal,  July  16,  1829.  I  do  not  find  any  record  of 
their  arrival  at  Honesdale,  which  was  probably  five  or  six  days 
thereafter. 

"  The  old  inhabitants  of  this  place,  who  were  present  at  the 
time,  agree  that  the  experimental  trip  was  made  in  August,  1829. 
Hon.  John  Torry  informs  me  that  he  finds  in  the  books  of  his 
father,  Jason  Torry,  a  charge  against  the  Delaware  and  Hudson 
Canal  Company,  dated  August  3,  1829,  for  labor  of  men  and 
horses,  drawing  stones,  '  this  day,'  to  load  a  railroad-car.  This 
car,  loaded,  with  stone,  is  understood  and  believed  to  be  the  one 
which  was  to  be  attached  to  the  locomotive  on  its  trial-trip.  I 
find  many,  who  were  present  at  the  time,  remember  the  car-load 
of  stone  designed  to  be  attached  to  the  locomotive  on  its  trial-trip. 
At  the  celebration,  on  the  day  the  experiment  was  made,  a  young 
man,  by  the  name  of  Alva  Adams,  had  his  arm  badly  shattered 
by  the  premature  discharge  of  the  cannon  which  was  used. 
Dr.  E.  T.  Losey,  who  is  now  living  here,  assisted  in  amputating 
the  arm  and  afterward  attended  the  patient.  Dr.  Losey  finds  the 
charge  on  his  books,  for  amputating,  dated  August  8,  1829.  The 
trial-trip,  no  doubt,  took  place  some  time  from  the  3d  to  the  8th 
of  August,  1829.  Dr.  Losey  thinks  the  arm  was  amputated  the 
same  day  on  which  the  injury  was  received  ;  but  says  he  might 
have  omitted  to  make  the  charge  for  three  or  four  days,  but  is  not 
certain  of  this. 

"  I  have  had  the  file  of  letters  for  1829  examined,  at  our  office 
in  New  York,  without  finding  any  letters  from  John  B.  Jervis  or 
Horatio  Allen  which  fix  the  date  of  the  experiment.  I  am  of  opin- 
ion that  there  were  such  letters,  and  that  they  have  been  lent 
to  some  previous  explorer,  who  has  failed  to  return  them. 

"John  B.  Jervis's  annual  report  for  1829  I  have  examined  (it 
is  now  in  our  New- York  office) ;  but,  while  he  speaks  of  the  causes 
of  failure  as  to  the  success  of  the  locomotive,  he  does  not  give  the 
day  on  which  the  experiment  was  made. 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

"  I  am  sorry  that  I  am  unable  to  fix  the  exact  day  on  which 
the  trial-trip  of  the  first  locomotive  was  made,  but  there  is  no 
doubt  it  occurred  some  time  from  the  3d  to  the  8th  of  August, 
1829.  "  Tours  very  truly, 

"  C.  F.  Yotjkg, 
"  General 


Determined  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  and  no 
effort  untried  to  establish  the  exact  day  the  first  loco- 
motive was  run  upon  a  railroad  in  America,  the  author 
(taking  the  hint  from  Mr.  Young's  letter)  addressed 
the  postmaster  of  Montrose,  relative  to  the  old  file  of 
newspapers  said  to  be  in  existence,  stating  the  object 
of  his  inquiry.  In  a  few  days  he  received  a  rej)ly  from 
a  lady,  Miss  Emily  C.  Blackman,  offering  her  aid  and 
services  in  examining  the  said  file,  and  through  her 
energy  and  perseverance  he  received  much  valuable 
information,  by  following  which,  he  was  rewarded  with 
complete  success.  In  one  of  Miss  Blackman's  letters, 
she  corroborates  Mr.  Young's  information,  by  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  Montrose  paper  : 

"  Melancholy  Accident. — We  are  informed  that  a  young  man, 
by  the  name  of  Adams,  was  severely  injured  on  Saturday  last,  at 
Honesdale,  by  the  sudden  and  unexpected  discharge  of  a  cannon. 
Adams  and  others  were  engaged  in  firing  signals  on  starting  the 
locomotive-engine." — From  the  Dundaff  Republican,  hut  no  date. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Miss  Blackman,  the  author 
learned  that  a  file  of  the  Dundaff  Republican  of  1829 
could  be  obtained  from  Dilton  Yarrington,  Esq.,  of 
Carbondale  ;  who,  on  application,  kindly  forwarded  the 
same  to  the  author.  From  this  file,  under  date  of  Thurs- 
day, August  13,  1829,  we  extract  the  following : 

"  Melancholy  Accident. — "We  are  informed  that  a  young  man, 
by  the  name  of  Adams,  was  severely  injured  on  Saturday  last,  at 
Honesdale,"  etc.,  etc. 


LANDING  IN  AMERICA. 


"  Saturday  last,"  before  Thursday,  13th,  was  the  8th 
day  of  August,  1829,  and,  without  a  shadow  of  doubt, 
the  day  the  first  locomotive  turned  a  driving-wheel  upon 
a  road  on  the  American  Continent. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

LANDING   IN    AMEEICA. 

The  author  was  next  at  a  loss  how  to  account  for 
-the  long  interval,  some  six  weeks  or  more,  which  elapsed 
after  the  Stourbridge  Lion  arrived  in  New  York,  by 
Mr.  Allen's  letter,  before  its  first  appearance  upon  the 
railroad  at  Honesdale  ;  when  the  prompt  and  indefati- 
gable lady  correspondent,  Miss  Blackman,  again  came 
to  his  relief  with  a  statement  abstracted  from  her  own 
private  journal,  which  was  as  follows  : 

From  Morning  Courier  and  New  York  Enquirer,  June  12,  1829. 

"  Locomotive-Engines. — "We  yesterday  attended  the  first  exhi- 
bition of  a  locomotive-engine,  called  The  Lion,  imported  by  the 
Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company,  to  be  used  upon  their  rail- 
way. On  Wednesday,  the  engine,  just  imported,  was  tried,  and 
gave  such  general  satisfaction,  that  the  present  exhibition  was 
unanimously  attended  by  gentlemen  of  science  and  particular 
intelligence.  The  engine  was  put  up  in  Mr.  Kemble's  manufactory, 
by  Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  who  went  to  England  to  purchase  it  for 
the  company,  and  it  gives  us  great  satisfaction  to  say  that  the 
most  important  improvements  which  have  lately  been  made  in  the 
construction  of  these  engines  originated  with  him.  It  is  of  nine- 
horse  power,  having  a  boiler  sixteen  and  a  half  feet  long,  with  two 
cylinders,  each  of  three-feet  stroke.  It  is  calculated  to  propel 
from  sixty  to  eighty  tons,  at  five  miles  per  hour.  The  power  is 
applied  to  each  wheel  at  about  twelve  inches  from  the  centre,  and 


84  HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

the  adhesive  power  of  the  wheel,  arising  from  the  weight  of  the 
engine,  will  give  locomotion  to  the  whole  structure. 

"  The  steam  was  raised  by  the  LacTcawaxen  coal,  and  sustained 
(although  there  was  no  friction)  at  between  forty  and  fifty  pounds 
to  the  inch. 

"  We  were  delighted  with  the  performance  of  the  engine,  and 
have  no  doubt  but  the  enterprising  company  to  whom  it  belongs 
will  reap  a  rich  reward  for  their  enterprise  and  perseverance. 

"  Pleased  as  we  were,  however,  with  the  engine,  we  were  much 
more  pleased  with  the  practical  demonstration  offered,  of  the 
importance  and  usefulness  of  the  coal  which  the  company  propose 
to  bring  to  market.  It  is  now  reduced  to  a  certainty  that  the 
Lackawaxen  coal  will  generate  steam  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
answer  all  the  purposes  to  which  it  is  applied,  and  this  fact  is  not 
only  of  great  importance  to  the  company,  but  is  worth  millions  to 
our  State." 

To  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Yarrington,  of  Carbondale, 
Pennsylvania,  we  are  indebted  for  the  opportunity  to 
examine  an  old  file  of  the  Dundaff  Republican,  pub- 
lished in  Susquehanna  County,  Pennsylvania,  for  the 
year  1829.  Under  date  of  July  23,  1829,  we  find  the 
following,  announcing  the  arrival  at  Honesdale  of  the 
Stourbridge  Lion  from  New- York,  via  Delaware  and 
Hudson  Canal : 

"The  boats  begin  to  arrive  with  the  travelling-engines  and 
railroad  machinery ;  all  is  bustle  and  business.  The  engine  in- 
tended for  this  end  of  the  road  is  a  plain,  stout  work  of  immense 
height,  weighing  about  seven  tons,  and  will  travel  four  miles  per 
hour,  with  a  train  of  thirty  to  thirty-six  carriages,  loaded  with 
two  tons  of  coal  each  ;  the  engine  is  called  the  Stourbridge  Lion, 
its  boiler  being  built  something  in  shape  of  that  animal,  and 
painted  accordingly.  Now  imagine  to  yourself  the  appearance  of 
that  animal,  the  body  at  least  twelve  feet  in  length  and  five  in 
diameter,  travelling  at  the  rate  of  four  or  five  miles  per  hour, 
together  with  a  host  of  young  ones  in  train,  and  you  will  have 
some  idea  of  the  scene  before  us ;  but  the  enchantment  is  broken, 
and  in  a  few  days  the  whole  will  be  set  in  motion,  and  we  will  now 
give  you  information  that,  when  the  whole  is  in  operation,  we  shall 


LANDING  IN  AMERICA.  85 

give  a  general  notice  that  we  intend  to  hold  a  day  of  rejoicing  on 
the  completion  of  the  same,  and  shall  give  a  general  invitation  to 
our  fellow-citizens  to  attend. 

"  We  have  procured  a  large  cannon,  and  intend  to  station  it  on 
the  top  of  the  high  peak,  to  sound  on  the  occasion. 

"  A  Strict  Observer." 

The  following  description  of  the  locomotive  Stour- 
bridge Lion  and  its  first  experimental  trip,  from  the 
pen  of  the  Hon.  John  Tony,  a  resident  of  Honesdale, 
and  a  spectator  of  the  events  on  that  occasion,  we  will 
present  in  his  own  language  : 

"  Honesdale,  March  28,  1810. 

"Wm.  H.  Brown,  Esq.— 

"Dear  Sir  :  Yours  of  the  16th  inst.,  asking  for  information  and 
particulars  respecting  the  trial-trip  of  the  first  locomotive  in  Hones- 
dale, came  duly  to  hand.  I  have  conversed  with  numerous  persons 
who  I  thought  would  be  likely  to  remember  incidents  concerning 
it,  and  have  seen  my  brother,  who  kept  my  father's  accounts  in 
1829  (but  who  was  in  Minnesota  when  C.  F.  Young,  Esq.,  was 
seeking  information). 

"  From  his  memorandum  made  at  the  time,  the  precise  date  of 
the  trial  is  determined  (viz.,  August  8,  1829).  I  have  prepared  a 
statement  embodying  so  many  of  the  incidents  as  it  seems  to  me 
you  would  think  of  any  interest,  and  probably  including  some 
which  might  better  be  omitted,  as  well  as  some  which  you  will 
have  obtained  from  other  sources,  and  have  appended  as  foot-notes 
such  copies  of  the  entries  I  have  found  as  relate  to  the  subject. 

"  The  statements  I  have  made  are  partly  from  my  own  knowl- 
edge, partly  such  as  I  have  obtained  from  interviews  with  persons 
who  were  present,  and  whose  statements  I  consider  reliable,  and 
partly  from  written  memoranda,  from  which  I  have  made  extracts. 
You  can  use  so  much  of  it  as  you  think  advisable,  and  in  such 
form  as  you  please. 

"  Dr.  Losey,  to  whom  you  wrote,  died  on  the  9th  inst. 

"  The  first  locomotive  run  by  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal 
Company,  on  their  railroad  at  Honesdale,  was  constructed  in 
Stourbridge,  England  (a  manufacturing  town  on  the  river  Stour, 
some  fifteen  miles  westward  from  Birmingham). 


86  HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

"  Its  plan  of  construction  was  much  less  simple  than  that  of 
those  now  in  use.  From  the  great  number  of  its  rods  and  joints, 
some  who  were  observers  of  its  experimental  trial  on  the  road, 
describe  it  as  looking  like  a  mammoth  grasshopper,  having  three 
or  four  times  the  usual  number  of  legs.  Its  driving-wheels  were 
of  oak-wood,  banded  with  a  heavy  wrought-iron  tire,  and  the  front 
was  ornamented  with  a  large,  fierce-looking  face  of  a  lion,  in  bold 
relief,  and  it  bore  the  name  of  '  Stourbridge  Lion.'1 

"  This  locomotive  and  two  others,  purchased  by  or  made  for 
the  company  in  England,  arrived  in  New  York  in  May,  1829,  and 
it  was  expected  the  company's  railroad  would  be  completed  in 
time  to  have  the  celebration  of  the  opening  of  the  railroad,  and  of 
the  running  of  the  first  locomotive  upon  it,  on  the  4th  of  July  of 
that  year.  But  the  month  August  came  before  the  railroad  was 
so  far  completed  that  the  formal  opening  could  be  attempted. 

"  The  locomotive  having  been  transported  by  canal  to  Hones- 
dale,  the  '  Stourbridge  Lion '  was  elevated,  by  the  use  of  a  tem- 
porary inclined  plane,  to  the  level  of  the  railroad,  and  put  in  run- 
ning order,  and  placed  upon  the  rails ;  and  every  thing  thus  got 
in  readiness  for  the  trial.  On  Saturday,  August  8,  1829,  the  fire 
was  kindled  and  steam  raised,  and,  under  the  management  of  Mr. 
Horatio  Allen,  the  '  wonderful  machine '  was  found  capable  of 
moving,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  crowd  of  excited  spectators. 
After  running  it  back  and  forth  on  the  portion  of  the  road 
between  the  canal  basin  and  the  high  railroad-bridge  across  the 
west  branch  of  the  Lackawaxen,  Mr.  Allen  started  it,  with  no  per- 
son accompanying  him,  and  without  any  car  being  attached,  and 
ran  it  with  good  speed  around  the  curve  and  across  the  bridge,  and 
up  the  railroad  about  one  and  a  half  mile,  to  where  the  railroad 
was  crossed  by  a  common  road-bridge,  placed  too  low  to  admit  of 
the  passage  of  the  locomotive  under  it.  Here  he  reversed  the 
engine  and  ran  it  back  to  the  place  of  starting,  greeted  by  the 
shouting  cheers  of  the  people  and  the  booming  of  cannon.  Mr. 
Alva  Adams,  a  mechanic,  while  assisting  to  fire  the  cannon,  had 
his  arm  so  badly  shattered  that  amputation  became  necessary. 

"  After  repeating  the  trial  a  few  times,  the  '  Stourbridge  Lion ' 
was  removed  from  the  track  and  left  standing  by  the  side  of  the 
railroad,  with  no  covering  but  a  temporary  roof,  until  the  approach 
of  winter. 

"  These  experiments  demonstrated  that  the  manner  of  con- 
struction of  the  railroad  was  not  sufficiently  firm  and  substantial 


LANDING  IN  AMERICA.  87 

for  a  locomotive-road,  the  rails  being  of  hemlock-timber,  six 
inches  thick  by  twelve  inches  deep,  keyed  (or  wedged)  into  gains 
cut  in  cross-ties  of  hemlock-timber,  placed  ten  feet  apart,  with 
a  flat  bar  of  iron  fastened  by  screws  upon  the  top  of  the  rail — the 
gauge  (or  width)  of  track  being  four  feet  three  inches.  They  also 
demonstrated  that  the  plan  of  construction  of  the  locomotive  was 
not  such  as  to  afford  a  probability  of  its  being  successfully  used 
for  the  purpose  designed,  with  any  such  changes  in  the  road  as 
were  then  deemed  reasonable. 

"  The  failure  of  success  was  a  great  disappointment,  not  only 
to  the  directors  and  stockholders  of  the  company,  but  also  to  the 
community,  who  were  interested  in  the  prosperity  of  the  county. 

"  While  thus  standing  by  the  side  of  the  railroad,  it  was  an 
object  of  great  dread  to  timid  children  who  were  obliged  to  pass 
by  it ;  and  many,  now  residing  in  Honesdale,  remember  the  care 
they  were  accustomed  to  take,  when  children,  to  avoid  passing 
near  the  fierce-looking  'lion.'  In  November,  1829,  it  was  housed 
in  with  rough  boards,  as  it  thus  stood  beside  the  railroad, 
though  some  of  the  boards  on  the  sides  were  soon  displaced,  to 
give  opportunity  for  the  curious  to  examine  it  more  readily.  It 
remained  where  thus  housed  some  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  until 
so  many  of  its  parts  were  detached  or  broken,  that  it  was  entirely 
disabled  and  considered  worthless  as  a  locomotive ;  when  the 
boiler  was  removed  to  Carbondale,  and  used  with  a  stationary 
engine  in  one  of  the  company's  shops,  and  the  wheels,  axles,  and 
loose  parts,  were  sold  for  old  iron.  Some  of  the  loose  parts  are  still 
kept  as  mementos  of  the  first  locomotive  run  upon  a  railroad  in 
America.     The  boiler  is  now  in  use  in  Carbondale. 

"  In  the  original  '  Labor  Account '  kept  by  Mr.  Stephen  Torry, 
for  his  father's  Honesdale  business,  in  1829,  is  the  following  entry: 

"  '  Saturday,  August  8,  1829. 

"  '  The  locomotive-engine  "  Stourbridge  Lion  "  was  started  by 
steam  this  morning. — Alva  Adams  had  his  arm  blown  off  while 
firing  the  cannon. 

" '  No  work  was  done  until  after  the  middle  of  forenoon.' 

"  In  the  accounts  kept  by  Stephen  Torry  for  his  father,  in 
1829,  is  a  charge  to  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company, 
under  date  of  'November  7,  1829,'  for  'boards  to  cover  the 
steam-engine.' 


88  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

"The  foregoing  extracts  are  true  copies  from  the  original 
papers  relating  to  Jason  Torry's  business. 

"  Respectfully, 

"John  Tokky." 

Annexed  we  give  a  sketch  of  the  "Stourbridge 
Lion"  from  an  original  drawing  of  the  machine,  to- 
gether with  a  description  of  the  engine  by  Mr.  David 
Matthew,  who  had  charge  of  the  men  who  were  em- 
ployed to  fit  up  the  engine  when  it  arrived  in  New 
York,  and  had  been  landed  at  the  works  of  the  West 
Point  Foundery,  New  York. 

Mr.  Matthew  writes,  under  date  of  December  6, 
1859: 

"  The  '  Stourbridge  Lion '  was  a  four-wheeled  engine,  all  drivers, 
with  all  four  wheels  connected  by  pins  in  the  wheels.  The  boiler 
was  a  round,  cylindrical  one ;  no  drop  part  for  the  furnace,  and 
the  smoke-box  had  a  well-painted  lion's  head  on  it.  The  cylinders 
were  vertical,  placed  at  the  back  and  each  side  of  the  furnace,  with 
grasshopper-beams  and  connecting-rods  from  them  to  the  crank- 
pins  in  the  wheels.  The  back  wheels  and  the  side-rods  between 
them  and  the  front  wheels ;  the  front  end  of  the  beams  were  sup- 
ported by  a  pair  of  radius  rods  which  formed  the  parallel  motion. 
This  engine  was  built  by  Foster,  Rastrick  &  Company,  at  Stour- 
bridge, England." 


CHAPTEK   XVI 

MORE    FACTS    OF   THE    STOURBRIDGE   LION. 

In  September,  1829,  a  locomotive  built  by  George 
Stephenson,  at  his  works  in  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  ar- 
rived in  New  York  and  was  to  be  seen,  for  some  time, 
in  the  yard  of  E.  Dunscomb,  Water  Street ;  its  wheels 


MORE   FACTS   OF   THE   STOURBRIDGE   LION.  89 

were  raised  above  tlie  ground  and  kept  running  for  the 
amusement  of  the  crowds  attracted  by  its  novelty, 
Of  this  engine  Mr.  Horatio  Allen  speaks  in  a  letter  to 
the  author  as  follows : 

"This  locomotive,  or  motive  (but  not  progressive  motion),  was 
not  the  engine  which  made  the  first  run  on  the  railroad  at  Hones- 
dale,  Pennsylvania.  This  engine  (built  by  Stephenson  at  New- 
castle-upon-Tyne) was  set  up  at  an  iron-yard  on  the  East-River 
side  of  New  York,  and  being  blocked  up,  so  that  the  wheels  could 
not  touch  the  ground,  the  engine  could  go  through  the  motions 
without  running." 

As  we  are  determined  that  our  history  of  the  first 
locomotives  in  America  shall  lack  no  evidence  to  sus- 
tain the  facts  we  record,  we  cannot  close  our  testi- 
mony in  the  case  of  the  "  Stourbridge  Lion  "  without 
removing  an  impression  which  many  persons  entertain, 
and  have  often  declared  to  the  author,  that  this  same 
old  engine,  which  came  from  England  and  made  the 
first  trip  on  a  railroad  in  America,  is  still  in  existence 
somewhere  in  New  England.  Such  is  not  the  fact. 
Notwithstanding  the  testimony  upon  this  point  to  be 
found  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Hon.  John  Torry's  letter 
to  the  author,  where  he  distinctly  records  the  ultimate 
fate  of  the  Lion,  we  have  another  letter  from  an  old 
citizen  of  that  region,  the  same  gentleman  who  favored 
us  with  the  file  of  the  Dundaff  Republican,  Mr.  Dilton 
Yarrington,  from  which  we  will  extract  such  parts  as 
relate  to  the  final  disposition  of  this  locomotive,  thus : 

"  As  far  as  the  locomotive  was  concerned,  it  was  considered  a 
failure  from  the  very  first  time  it  was  used.  It  stood  around  for 
some  years,  and  by  degrees  was  taken  to  pieces  and  wasted  away 
like  an  old  cripple.  I  worked  up  some  of  the  fragments  of  it  in 
the  shop  in  1849. 

.  .  .  .  "  The  boiler  is  now  in  use  here  in  Carbondale,  in  a 
foundery,  where  it  has  been  in  use  for  twenty  years  past,  and  is 


90  HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

still  considered  reliable.     The  iron  plates  composing  it  are  full 
half  an  inch  thick. 

"Respectfully  yours, 

"D.  Yabeington." 

Mr.  Yarrington  was  in  the  company's,  employ,  an 
old  citizen  of  that  region,  and  lived  in  Dundaff  from 
1825  to  1847. 

We  will  now  close  onr  description  of  the  events  inci- 
dent to  the  first  locomotive  in  America,  by  giving  our 
readers  Mr.  Allen's  account  of  his  ride  alone  upon  the 
"Stourbridge  Lion,"  in  a  speech  made  by  him  in  1851. 
at  Dunkirk,  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  in  honor 
of  the  completion  of  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad, 
and  transmitted  by  him  to  the  author.  After  alluding 
in  terms  of  commendation  to  those  who,  by  their  talents 
and  perseverance,  had  carried  through  to  a  successful 
completion  the  great  work  just  finished,  Mr.  Allen 
continued : 

"  Having  occupied  your  time  with  these  statements  of  perhaps 
no  great  interest,  but  the  omission  of  which  would  have  been  an 
act  of  injustice,  I  have  thought  that,  on  this  great  railroad  occasion, 
a  reference  to  some  of  the  incidents  in  the  early  railroad  history 
of  this  country  might  be  appropriate.  To  bring  before  you  as 
strikingly  as  in  my  power,  it  has  occurred  to  me  to  lead  your  im- 
agination to  the  conception  of  the  scene  which  would  present 
itself  if,  on  some  fine  morning,  you  were  placed  at  an  elevation, 
aud  gifted  for  the  moment  with  a  power  of  vision  which  would 
command  the  railroad  movements  of  the  whole  United  States. 
There  would  be  presented  an  exciting  picture  of  activity,  in  a 
thousand  iron  horses  starting  forth  from  the  various  railroad 
centres,  or  traversing  the  surface  of  the  continent  in  all  directions. 
"When  the  imagination  has  attained  to  some  conception  of  the 
scene,  let  it  seek  to  go  back  to  the  time  when  only  one  of  these 
iron  monsters  was  in  existence  on  this  continent,  and  was  moving 
forth,  the  first  of  his  mighty  race.  When  was  it?  where  was 
it  ?  and  who  awakened  its  energies  and  directed  its  movements  ? 
It  was  in  the  year  1829,  on  the  banks  of  the  Lackawaxen,  at  the 


MORE  FACTS   OF   THE  STOURBRIDGE   LION.  91 

commencement  of  the  railroad  connecting  the  canal  of  the  Dela- 
ware and  Hudson  Company  with  their  coal-mines,  and  he  who 
addresses  you  was  the  only  person  on  that  locomotive. 

"  The  circumstances  which  led  to  my  being  left  alone  on  the 
engine  were  these :  The  road  had  been  built  in  the  summer,  the 
structure  was  of  hemlock-timber,  and  the  rails,  of  large  dimensions, 
notched  on  to  caps  placed  far  apart.  The  timber  had  cracked  and 
warped,  from  exposure  to  the  sun.  After  about  five  hundred  feet 
of  straight  line,  the  road  crossed  the  Lackawaxen  Creek  on  a 
trestle-work  about  thirty  feet  high,  and  with  a  curve  of  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  or  four  hundred  feet  radius.  The  impression 
was  very  general  that  the  iron  monster  would  either  break  down 
the  road  or  that  it  would  leave  the  track  at  the  curve  and  plunge 
into  the  creek.  My  reply  to  such  apprehension  was,  that  it  was 
too  late  to  consider  the  probability  of  such  occurrences;  that 
there  was  no  other  course  but  to  have  the  trial  made  of  the 
strange  animal  which  had  been  brought  here  at  such  great  expense, 
but  that  it  was  not  necessary  that  more  than  one  should  be  in- 
volved in  its  fate ;  that  I  would  take  the  first  ride  alone,  and  that 
the  time  would  come  when  I  should  look  back  to  this  incident 
with  great  interest.  As  I  placed  my  hand  on  the  throttle-valve 
handle  I  was  undecided  whether  I  would  move  slowly  or  with  a  fair 
degree  of  speed ;  but  believing  that  the  road  would  prove  safe,  and 
preferring,  if  we  did  go  down,  to  go  down  handsomely  and  without 
any  evidence  of  timidity,  I  started  with  considerable  velocity, 
passed  the  curve  over  the  creek  safely,  and  was  soon  out  of  hearing 
of  the  cheers  of  the  large  assemblage  present.  At  the  end  of  two 
or  of  three  miles,  I  reversed  the  valves  and  returned  without  acci- 
dent to  the  place  of  starting,  having  thus  made  the  first  railroad 
trip  by  locomotive  on  the  Western  Hemisphere." 

Our  readers  are  doubtless  now  satisfied  that  to  the 
Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company  is  justly  due 
the  credit  of  having  introduced  and  run  upon  their  rail- 
road the  first  locomotive  that  made  a  revolution  with 
its  driving-wheel  upon  the  American  Continent.  And 
although  this  engine  proved  to  be  impracticable  under 
the  circumstances,  it  was  caused  "by  no  defect  in  its  con- 
struction, or  the  principle  involved,  nor  from  a  lack  of 


92  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

power  and  ability  to  perform  all  the  duties  that  might 
have  been  required ;  but  from  this  cause  alone,  that  the 
road  had  not  been  built  to  sustain  such  a  weight  as  it 
was  called  upon  to  bear  when  this  new  instrument  of 
power  was  placed  upon  it.  The  road  had  been  con- 
structed for  horse-power  alone,  as  all  other  roads  were 
in  this  country  at  that  early  period,  and  for  a  long  time 
after,  even  in  England.  No  idea  of  a  locomotive  had 
then  been  conceived  in  this  country.  Nevertheless, 
this  machine  was  the  forerunner  of  a  mighty  race  of 
iron  monsters,  which  only  twoscore  years  after  were  to 
be  seen  traversing  every  section  of  the  country,  even 
stretching  their  course  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 
We  are  informed  by  a  letter  just  received  from  our 
faithful  correspondent,  Miss  Blackman,  that  the  boiler 
of  the  Stourbridge  Lion  may  now  be  seen  alongside  of 
the  road  near  Carbondale,  Pa.,  and  offered  for  sale.  It 
has  been  removed  from  its  position  in  the  furnace,  to 
give  place  to  a  larger  boiler  required  for  the  work. 
The  present  owners  demand  $1,000  for  it,  as  a  relic  of 
the  first  locomotive  in  America. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

FIRST   MEETING   OF   THE   BALTIMORE    AND    OHIO    RAILROAD 
COMPANY. 

The  first  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  rail- 
road company  in  the  United  States,  to  connect  the  wa- 
ters of  the  East  with  the  waters  of  the  West,  was  held 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  on  the  12th  day  of  February, 
1827.     The  practicability  of  the  project  was  left  to  a 


BALTIMORE  AND  OHIO  RAILROAD  COMPANY.  93 

committee  who  soon  after  reported  at  the  second  meet- 
ing, on  the  19th,  and  a  resolntion  was  passed  to  obtain 
a  charter  from  the  Legislature.  The  charter  was  ob- 
tained, and  on  April  24,  1827,  the  company  was  organ- 
ized, and  the  first  board  of  directors  elected. 

The  constrnction  of  the  road  was  commenced  by 
laying  a  corner-stone,  July  4,  1828,  attended  by  one 
of  the  most  magnificent  processions  of  the  military  and 
civil  associations,  trades,  and  professions,  ever  wit- 
nessed on  any  occasion  in  the  United  States.  The  author 
was  in  Baltimore  at  that  time,  and  participated  as  one 
in  the  vast  crowd  assembled  to  take  part  in  the  impos- 
ing ceremonies  of  that  eventful  day.  Never  in  his  life 
(and  he  has  been  present  on  many  demonstrations  on 
other  occasions)  has  he  witnessed  a  more  magnificent 
display  than  was  made  on  that  day. 

The  venerable  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  then 
over  ninety  years  of  age,  the  only  survivor  of  the  sign- 
ers of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was  present  on 
the  occasion  and  laid  the  corner-stone  of  this  stupen- 
dous fabric,  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  It  is  related 
that,  on  this  occasion,  after  the  imposing  ceremonies 
were  over,  the  venerable  patriot  made  use  of  the  ex- 
pression to  one  of  his  friends  present :  "  I  consider  this 
among  the  most  important  acts  of  my  life,  second  only 
to  my  signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  if  even 
it  be  second  to  that ; "  and  to  the  end  of  his  life  he 
continued  a  firm  friend  of  the  work. 

The  construction  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road was  commenced  in  1828,  and  completed  in  1852. 
On  January  12,  1853,  in  honor  of  the  completion  of 
the  road,  a  magnificent  banquet  took  place  in  Wheeling, 
its  western  terminus.  At  that  time  it  was  the  longest 
railroad  in  the  world. 


94  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

At  this  banquet  Mr.  Swarm,  the  president  of  the 
company,  in  his  address,  made  this  "beautiful  allusion 
to  the  venerable  and  patriotic  Carroll:  "There  are 
those  present  who  witnessed  the  enthusiasm  which  at- 
tended the  laying  of  the  first  stone,  by  the  illustrious 
Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton.  Clarum  et  venerabile 
nomen"  He  then  produced  the  trowel  which  had  been 
used  by  Mr.  Carroll,  and  was  still  preserved  by  the  com- 
pany, with  this  memorandum  on  it :  "  This  trowel  was 
used  by  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  to  lay  the  first 
stone  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Kailroad,  July  4, 
1828."  This  interesting  relic  was  received  by  the  assem- 
bled company  with  rapturous  applause.  Mr.  John  B. 
Morris,  who  delivered  the  address  for  the  president  and 
directors,  took  occasion  to  remark  of  Mr.  Carroll,  in 
connection  with  the  interesting  event :  "  In  the  full  pos- 
session of  all  his  mental  powers,  with  his  feelings  and 
affections  still  buoyant  and  warm,  he  now  declares  that 
the  proudest  act  of  his  life,  and  the  most  important 
in  its  consequences  to  his  country,  was  the  signature  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  ;  the  next,  the  laying 
of  the  corner-stone  of  the  work  which  is  to  perpetuate 
the  union  of  the  American  States,  and  to  make  the 
East  and  the  "West  as  one  household  in  the  facilities 
of  intercourse  and  the  feelings  of  mutual  affection." 
Benjamin  H.  Latrobe,  Esq.,  then  followed  in  a  few  brief 
remarks,  in  reply  to  the  beautiful  and  flattering  allusion 
made  to  his  services  by  the  president  of  the  road.  Mr. 
Latrobe  was  the  chief  engineer  of  the  long  work  just 
completed,  and  to  his  great  energy  and  ability,  as  well 
as  to  his  indomitable  perseverance  in  overcoming  all 
obstacles,  the  success  of  this  stupendous  undertaking  is 
largely  to  be  attributed.  To  the  kindness  of  Mr.  La- 
trobe, also,  is  the  author  indebted  for  much  of  the 


BALTIMORE   AND   OHIO   RAILROAD   COMPANY.  95 

valuable  information  contained  in  these  pages,  and  also 
for  the  pen-and-ink  drawing  of  the  Peter  Cooper  engine, 
of  which  we  will  speak  in  its  proper  place,  and  the 
sketch  and  experiments  of  Mr.  Thomas's  sailing-car  and 
several  other  machines  that  sncceeded  it. 

As  soon  as  the  corner-stone  of  the  road  was  laid, 
preparations  were  made  to  push  the  work  through  with 
as  much  energy  and  expedition  as  could  be  exercised  in 
the  manner  of  construction  for  a  railroad  deemed  ab- 
solutely necessary  at  that  early  day.  The  amount  of 
expense  involved  in  the  prosecution  of  this  work,  when 
compared  with  the  construction  of  railroads  at  the 
present  day,  only  fills  our  minds  with  the  more  wonder 
and  admiration  at  the  boldness  displayed  by  the  pro- 
jectors of  such  a  stupendous  undertaking  as  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad.  We  will  briefly  describe  the 
mode  of  construction  of  this  early  road,  as  it  will  no 
doubt  prove  interesting  to  our  readers  who  are  only 
conversant  with  the  present  method  of  building  rail- 
roads. The  method  of  construction  was  reported  to  the 
author  by  a  gentleman  now  living  in  Baltimore,  who 
was  engaged  in  one  of  the  branches  of  the  enterprise 
at  the  time,  thus  : 

"  After  the  ground  was  brought  to  a  level  for  the  track,  two 
square  holes  were  dug,  four  feet  apart,  twenty  inches  wide,  two 
feet  long,  and  two  feet  deep.  In  these  holes  broken  stones 
were  put,  sufficient  to  fill  to  the  surface.  They  were  then  securely 
rammed  down.  Each  particle  of  stone  was  tested  and  passed 
through  an  iron  ring,  to  insure  its  proper  dimensions.  On  this 
point  great  care  was  taken  that  every  stone  should  be  of  the  uni- 
form size  required.  After  the  foundation  is  made,  a  trench  six 
inches  deep,  and  filled  with  stone,  broken  and  tested  with  the  ring 
as  at  first,  is  extended  across  the  track  from  one  of  the  filled-up 
holes  to  another  opposite,  upon  which  a  sleeper  made  of  cedar, 
seven  feet  long,  is  laid.     By  this  process  the  foundation  of  the 


96  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

rails  is  protected  from  the  effects  of  dampness  or  frosts,  and  firm- 
ness and  stability  are  imparted  to  it.  These  cedar  cross-pieces 
were  laid  with  great  accuracy  and  care  ;  a  spirit-level  was  used  to 
adjust  them  properly.  In  each  end  of  these  cedar  cross-pieces, 
immediately  above  the  stone  foundation,  notches  were  cut  and  care- 
fully levelled ;  into  these  notches  were  laid  wooden  rails  or  string- 
pieces,  and  securely  kept  in  their  places  by  wedges.  These  string- 
pieces  were  of  yellow  pine,  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  feet  long 
and  six  inches  square,  and  slightly  bevelled  on  the  top  of  the 
upper  side,  for  the  flange  of  the  wheels,  which  at  that  time  was  on 
the  outside.  On  these  string-pieces  iron  rails  were  placed  and 
securely  nailed  down  with  wrought-iron  nails,  four  inches  long. 
The  earth  between  these  cedar  sleepers  was  carefully  removed,  so 
as  not  to  come  in  contact  with  the  bottom  of  the  string- pieces,  and 
thus  the  decay,  which  otherwise  might  take  place,  was  prevented. 
Yet,  with  all  these  difficulties  to  contend  with,  our  pioneers  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  persevered  until  they  brought  their 
work  to  a  successful  termination.  After  several  miles  of  this 
description  of  road  had  been  made,  long  granite  slabs  were  sub- 
stituted for  the  cedar  cross-pieces  and  the  yellow-pine  stringers. 
Beyond  Vinegar  Hill,  these  huge  blocks  of  this  solid  material 
could  be  seen  deposited  along  the  track,  and  gangs  of  workmen 
engaged  in  the  various  operations  of  dressing,  drilling,  laying,  and 
affixing  the  iron. 

"  When  the  track  was  finished  to  Vinegar  Hill,  a  distance  of 
about  seven  miles,  cars  were  put  upon  it  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  officers,  and  to  gratify  the  curious  by  a  ride." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FIKST    BRIGADE     OF     CARS. 

Some  of  the  newspaper  notices  of  the  events  of  that 
day,  and  the  schedules  advertised  by  the  company,  will 
no  doubt  be  interesting  to  our  readers  and  to  railroad 
men  of  the  present  time.     We  will  give  them  as  we 


FIKST  BRIGADE   OF  CARS.  97 

copied  them  from  old  files  of  the  Baltimore  newspapers. 
The  Baltimore  American,  May  20,  1830,  said : 

"  We  understand  that  a  critical  examination  of  the  entire  line 
of  the  first  division  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  between 
this  city  and  Ellicott's  Mills,  was  made  on  Thursday  last,  by  the 
president  and  engineer  of  the  company,  for  the  purpose  of  testing 
the  solidity  of  the  work.  A  car  was  loaded  with  double  the 
weight  intended  hereafter  to  be  transported  on  a  single  wagon,  and 
was  passed  over  the  whole  of  the  first  and  those  parts  of  the 
second  track  which  are  finished,  and  it  is  highly  gratifying  to 
learn  that,  notwithstanding  the  recent  heavy  rains,  which  have 
placed  the  work  in  the  most  unfavorable  condition,  it  sustained 
the  pressure  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  those  interested  in  the 
work.  About  seven  and  a  quarter  miles  of  the  single  track  are 
laid  on  wooden  sleepers,  and  the  remaining  six  and  three-quarter 
miles  on  stone  slabs.  Such  is  the  stability  of  this  mode  of  con- 
struction that,  in  about  1 6,000  blocks,  only  forty  were  observed  to 
be  the  least  affected  by  the  pressure.  The  horse-path  and  '  turn-outs 1 
are  finished,  and  the  necessary  arrangements  for  horses  and  driv- 
ers having  been  already  made,  we  understand  that  it  is  the  inten- 
tion of  the  company  to  open  the  road  for  public  travel  on  Mon- 
day next,  the  24th  inst." 

The  Baltimore  American,  May  24,  1830,  said : 

"  A  brigade  of  cars  will  run  three  times  a  day  each  way  from 
Baltimore  to  Ellicott's  Mills — passage  25  cents. 

"  This  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  in  pursuance  with  previous 
arrangements  of  the  mayor  and  the  members  of  the  two  branches 
of  the  City  Council,  the  president,  directors,  engineer,  and  officers, 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  the  editors  of  the  different 
papers  of  the  city,  and  a  number  of  strangers,  left  the  depot  at 
the  intersection  of  the  railroad  with  Pratt  Street,  on  an  excursion 
to  Ellicott's  Mills.  The  procession  was  headed  by  the  splendid 
car  Pioneer,  in  which,  together  with  a  number  of  others,  rode  the 
venerable  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton.  Although  the  brigade 
was  of  large  dimensions  and  filled  with  passengers,  it  was  drawn 
with  great  ease  by  one  horse  at  a  rapid  rate.  The  appearance  which 
they  presented  was  novel  and  interesting  in  the  extreme.  A 
great  number  of  persons,  attracted  by  the  novelty  of  the  sight, 


98  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

attended  at  the  depot  and  along  the  course  of  the  road,  and  all, 
as  far  as  we  could  learn,  were  unanimous  in  the  expression  of  the 
opinion  that  the  experiment  was  calculated  to  dissipate  the  doubts 
of  those  (if  there  be  any  such)  who  are  yet  skeptical  as  to  the 
manifold  advantages  of  this  over  all  other  modes  of  fostering  our 
internal  commerce. 

"  P.  S. — Since  the  above  was  written,  we  learn  that  the  party 
of  excursionists  had  returned,  accomplishing  the  distance  (thirteen 
miles)  in  one  hour  and  four  minutes." 

Another  extract  reads  as  follows  : 

"  The  weather  yesterday  being  remarkably  mild  and  pleasant, 
vast  numbers  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  examine 
the  road  and  viaduct,  and  enjoy  the  gratification  of  a  ride  in  one 
of  Winans's  carriages.  The  Hon.  the  Postmaster-General,  having 
reached  the  city,  and  being  desirous  of  visiting  the  road,  accom- 
panied the  gentlemen  attached  to  the  road.  A  carriage  being 
brought  out,  the  party,  consisting  of  twenty-four  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, including  the  Postmaster-General,  were  drawn  to  the 
viaduct  by  one  horse,  in  actually  a  little  less  than  six  minutes. 
After  alighting  to  view  the  magnificent  granite  structure,  the 
party  again  seated  themselves,  and  were  conveyed  back  to  Pratt 
Street  at  the  extraordinary  rate  of  fifteen  miles  per  hour.  In 
order  to  show  the  perfect  ease  and  rapidity  with  which  heavy 
loads  can  be  transported  over  well-constructed  railroads,  three 
carriages  were  attached  to  each  other,  and,  being  filled  with  more 
than  eighty  persons,  were  rapidly  drawn  by  one  horse,  at  the  rate 
of  eight  miles  per  hour.  Average  each  person  at  150  lbs.,  and  esti- 
mate the  carriages  at  two  and  a  half  tons,  a  single  horse  actually 
drew  a  load  of  eight  and  a  half  tons,  at  a  speed  of  eight  miles 
per  hour,  and  this  extraordinary  result  was  accomplished  without 
any  apparent  distress  to  the  animal,  or  indeed  uncommon  exertion 
on  his  part." 

In  another  number  of  the  American,  we  read  that 
an  experiment  was  made  for  the  transportation  of  two 
hundred  barrels  of  flour,  with  a  single  horse,  with  the 
most  triumphant  success.  The  flour  was  deposited  in  a 
train  of  eight  cars,  and  made,  together  with  the  cars 


FIRST  BRIGADE   OF   CARS.  99 

and  the  passengers,  an  entire  load  of  thirty  tons.  The 
train  was  drawn,  from  Ellicott's  Mills  to  the  Relay 
Honse,  six  and  a  half  miles  in  forty-six  minutes.  The 
horse  was  then  changed,  and  the  train,  having  again 
started,  reached  the  depot  on  Pratt  Street  in  sixty-nine 
minutes,  thus  accomplishing  the  thirteen  miles  in  one 
hour  and  fifty-four  minutes,  or  at  the  rate  of  six  and 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  an  hour. 

We  will  close  these  extracts  with  the  following 
copy  of  an  advertisement,  made  forty  years  ago,  for  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Eailroad : 

"  Railroad  Notice. — A  sufficient  number  of  cars  being  now 
provided  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers,  notice  is  hereby- 
given  that  the  following  arrangements  for  the  arrival  and  departure 
of  carriages  have  been  adopted,  and  will  take  effect  on  and  after 
Monday  morning,  the  5th  inst.,  viz.  :  A  brigade  of  cars  will  leave 
the  depot  in  Pratt  Street  at  6  and  10  o'clock  A.  m.  and  at  3  to  4 
o'clock  p.  m.,  and  will  leave  the  depot  at  Ellicott's  Mills  at  6  and 
at  8!-  o'clock  a.  m.,  and  at  12^  and  6  o'clock  p.  m. 

"  Way-passengers  will  provide  themselves  with  tickets  at  the 
office  of  the  company  in  Baltimore,  or  at  the  depot  at  Pratt  Street 
or  Ellicott's  Mills,  or  at  the  Relay  House,  near  Elk  Ridge 
Landing. 

"The  evening  way-car  for  Ellicott's  Mills  will  continue  to 
leave  the  depot,  Pratt  Street,  at  6  o'clock  p.  m.  as  usual. 

"  N".  B. — Positive  orders  have  been  issued  to  the  drivers  to 
receive  no  passengers  into  any  of  the  cars  without  tickets.  P.  S. 
— Parties  desirous  to  engage  a  car  for  the  day,  can  be  accommo- 
dated after  July  5th." 

When  we  compare  our  present  mode  of  travelling 
from  one  city  to  another,  over  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
miles  by  railroads,  being  comfortably  seated  in  the  most 
magnificent  cars  by  day,  and  snugly  resting  by  night  in 
commodious  sleeping-cars,  we  cannot  refrain  from  won- 
der in  attempting  to  conceive  how  our  forefathers,  forty 
years  ago,  could  content  themselves  to  make  a  journey 


100         HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

even  in  the  most  urgent  cases,  and  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  in  the  old-fashioned  stage-coaches  over  a  rough 
turnpike,  or  in  canal-packets.  But  at  that  time  noth- 
ing better  was  known ;  and  the  fast  line  of  stages,  and 
the  packet-line  on  the  canal,  were  the  best  the  country 
could  boast  of,  if  we  except  the  beautiful  steamers  that 
navigated  some  of  our  rivers.  The  early  methods  of 
travelling  when  railroads  were  first  brought  to  notice 
were  only  one  remove,  in  convenience  and  improvement, 
from  those  we  have  just  described. 

In  connection  with  the  early  operations  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad,  as  compared  with  the  present, 
the  following  "travelling  memoranda,"  published  in 
the  New -York  Gazette,  in  May,  1831,  famish  some 
reminiscences  worthy  of  preservation. 

"  TRAVELLING    MEMORANDA. 

"  Messrs.  Lang,  Turner  &  Company : 

"  Having,  last  week,  business  in  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and 
the  city  of  Washington,  I  started  at  six  a.  m.  on  Monday.  In 
order  to  show  the  facilities  afforded  at  the  present  day  to  do  much 
business  in  a  short  time,  I  send  you  a  sketch  of  my  excursion. 

"  Left  New  York  at  six  a.  m.  on  Monday.  Arrived  in  Philadel- 
phia at  five  p.  M.  Called  on  four  persons.  Settled  my  business 
with  them  by  nine.  Went  to  bed ;  and  started  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing at  six  for  Baltimore,  where  I  arrived  at  five  p.  m.  Got  through 
with  my  business  there  at  half-past  nine.  Went  to  bed.  Started 
at  four  a.  m.  on  Wednesday  for  Washington,  and  arrived  a  little 
after  nine  a.  m.  Dressed,  called  on  the  President,  and  finished  my 
business  with  him.  Dined  at  Gadsby's.  Took  a  hack  in  the  after- 
noon, rode  several  miles,  and  completed  my  business  with  four 
persons.  Took  tea  with  a  friend.  Slept  at  Gadsby's.  Started  at 
four  a.  m.  on  Thursday,  on  my  return.  Arrived  at  Baltimore  at 
ten,  visited  the  cathedral,  Washington  Monument  and  the  water- 
works, before  dinner.  Dined  at  Barnum's  splendid  hotel.  Partook 
of  a  bottle  of  wine  with  three  Albanians  ;  at  three  mounted  a  car, 
with  twenty-two  passengers,  on  railroad.  Visited  Ellicott's  Mills, 
thirteen  miles   from   Baltimore.     Returned  to   Baltimore  before 


FIRST  BRIGADE  OF  CARS.  101 

dark.  Took  tea,  and  afterward,  in  a  hack,  visited  the  venerable 
Mr.  Carroll,  of  Carrollton.  Returned  to  Barnum's.  Went  to  bed ; 
and  started  for  Philadelphia,  where  I  arrived  at  half-past  six  p.  m. 
Made  several  friendly  visits.  Went  to  bed.  Started  on  Saturday 
and  reached  New  York  at  half-past  five  the  same  day.  Was  thus 
absent  nearly  six  days — travelling  about  six  hundred  miles,  and 
completing  all  my  business  at  the  expense  of  forty  dollars  and 
seventy  cents. 

"  The  observations  that  I  made  were,  that  Baltimore  and  Phila- 
delphia are  looking  up.  In  both  places  the  bustle  of  business 
reminded  me  of  home,  that  is  to  say,  New  York.  The  canal  which 
connects  the  Delaware  with  the  Chesapeake,  through  which  I 
passed  in  two  hours,  is  a  great  and  useful  work.  The  railroad, 
which  already  passes  several  miles  beyond  Ellicott's  Mills,  is  a 
most  delightful  and  useful  mode  of  conveyance.  The  car  in  which 
I  took  my  passage  to  Ellicott's  Mills  (four  others  in  company) 
contained  twenty-two  passengers,  drawn  by  one  horse,  and  the 
time  going  the  thirteen  miles  was  one  hour  and  a  quarter.  By  the 
1st  of  July  the  locomotives  will  be  in  operation  upon  the  railroad, 
when  the  same  distance  will  be  travelled  in  thirty  minutes. 

"  Yours,  etc.,  J.  L." 

Those  who  have  seen  and  travelled  only  in  the 
comfortable  and  convenient  passenger-cars  of  the  present 
day  cannot  comprehend  the  tedious  progress  with  which 
such  improvements  have  been  made. 

The  first  passenger-car  was  like  a  market-car  on  rail- 
road-wheels. Then  came  cars  resembling  the  old-fash- 
ioned stage-coach,  with  the  same  springs  and  leather 
braces,  and  carrying  nine  passengers  each,  with  a  driver's 
seat  perched  upon  either  end,  as  there  was  no  such  con- 
trivance as  a  turn-table  at  that  early  day.  For  a  long 
time  the  cars  were  gaudily  painted,  with  a  small  increase 
in  the  size.  One  of  those,  built  by  Mr.  Richard  Imlay, 
is  thus  described  in  the  Baltimore  American,  August  4, 
1830: 

"  A  number  of  persons  visited  Monument  Square,  yesterday, 
for  the  purpose  of  examining  a  very  elegant  railroad  passenger- 


102        HISTORY  OF   THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

carriage,  just  finished  by  Mr.  Imlay,  and  intended  to  be  immedi- 
ately placed  on  the  road. 

"  The  arrangement  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers  is,  in 
some  respects,  different  from  any  other  which  has  yet  been  adopted. 
The  body  of  the  carriage  will  contain  twelve  persons,  and  the  out- 
side seats  at  either  end  will  receive  six,  including  the  driver.  On 
the  top  of  the  carriage  is  placed  a  double  sofa,  running  lengthwise, 
which  will  accommodate  twelve  more.  A  wire  netting  rises  from 
two  sides  of  the  top  of  the  carriage,  to  a  height  which  renders  the 
top  seats  perfectly  secure.  The  whole  is  surmounted  by  an  iron 
framework,  with  an  awning  to  protect  from  the  sun  or  rain.  The 
carriage,  which  is  named  the  '  Ohio,'  is  very  handsomely  finished, 
and  will,  we  have  no  doubt,  be  a  great  favorite  with  the  visitors 
to  the  railroad,  the  number  of  whom,  we  are  gratified  to  learn, 
continues  to  be  as  great  as  it  was  at  the  opening  of  the  road." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


The  road  to  Ellicott's  Mills  was  opened  on  May  24, 
1830.  Trains  of  cars  like  the  above  were  called  bri- 
gades, and  were  continued  until  Ross  Winans,  Esq., 
placed  npon  the  track  the  first  eight-wheel  car  ever 
built  for  passengers,  and  called  it  by  the  appropriate 
name  of  "  Columbus."  This  car  was  a  large  box,  such 
as  any  carpenter  could  make ;  •  it  had  a  truck  of 
four  wheels  at  either  end,  the  same  as  the  eight- 
wheel  cars  of  the  present  time ;  it  also  had  seats  on 
the  top,  like  the  other  cars  hitherto  used,  which  were 
reached  by  a  ladder  at  one  of  the  corners.  This  was 
followed  by  several  odd-shaped  contrivances ;  one  was 
nicknamed  the  "  Sea-serpent,"  another  was  known  by  the 


ROSS  WINANS'S  IMPROVEMENTS.  103 

of  the  "  Dromedary ; "  next  came  the  "Win- 
chester pattern ;  and  this  was  followed  by  the  "  Wash- 
ington," each  an  improvement  on  its  predecessor.  The 
latter  resembled  three  coach  bodies  combined  in  one, 
and  divided  in  the  interior  into  three  separate  apart- 
ments, and  entered  by  doors  on  each  side  of  each 
apartment.  The  author  remembers  well,  as  if  but 
yesterday,  riding  in  cars  of  this  construction,  in  Oc- 
tober, 1833,  upon  the  railroad  between  South  Am- 
boy  and  Bordentown,  which  connected  by  steam- 
boats both  with  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  As  the 
passengers  landed  and  approached  the  cars  to  take 
their  seats,  each  car  appeared  surmounted  with  the 
letter  A,  B,  C,  etc.,  in  order,  and  each  apartment  was 
numbered  1,  2,  or  3.  Thus  the  passenger,  on  examining 
the  ticket  furnished  to  him  on  the  steamboat,  entered 
the  car  and  apartment  designated  thereon.  These  car- 
riages continued  on  all  the  roads  then  operating  be 
tween  the  principal  cities — as  Boston  and  Providence 
Philadelphia  and  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Balti 
more,  and  Baltimore  and  Washington — until  the  eight 
wheel  passenger  car  was  brought  into  use,  with  the  pas 
sage-way  the  entire  length  between  the  seats,  which 
were  placed  on  the  sides,  as  at  present. 

When  the  design  for  this  style  of  car  came  before 
the  board  of  directors  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road Company,  there  was  quite  a  discussion  whether 
there  should  be  an  aisle  in  them,  with  entrances  at  each 
end,  and  seats  as  at  present,  or  whether  the  cars  should 
be  in  compartments,  with  entrances  at  the  sides,  with  a 
ledge  outside  for  the  conductor;  and  one  of  the  argu- 
ments against  the  aisle,  verified  by  the  result,  as  we 
know,  was  the  apprehension  that  it  would  often  be  one 
long  spittoon !     The  possibility  of  this  was  admitted ; 


104        HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA. 

but  other  considerations  prevailed  in  favor  of  the  aisle, 
which  has  continued  to  the  present  day. 

Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  the 
author,  once  said,  in  alluding  to  the  improvements  in 
every  department  of  railroad  machinery,  locomotives, 
cars,  etc.: 

"  It  is  generally  believed  that  the  railroad  system  was  im- 
ported into  this  country  from  England,  full  grown,  but  such  is  not 
the  case.  This  will  be  exemplified  in  no  better  instance  than  the 
fact  that  in  September,  1832,  steel  springs  were  first  placed  upon 
the  locomotive '  York  '  and  tender,  as  an  experiment  only,  and  they 
demonstrated  their  utility  and  necessity  in  regulating  the  motion 
and  greatly  diminishing  the  jar  and  consequent  injury  to  the  road. 
This  also  suggested  the  propriety  of  making  a  further  experiment, 
by  placing  some  of  the  burden-cars  on  springs,  by  which  it  was 
found  that  they  admitted  of  one-third  more  loading,  without  any 
increase  of  damage  to  the  road  or  car." 

Two  years  earlier  than  this,  however,  other  and  im- 
portant improvements  had  been  made.  One  of  the  great 
desideratums  in  the  beginning  of  railroad  enterprise  in 
this  country,  and  to  which  no  example  could  be  applied, 
was  a  plan  to  reduce  the  large  amount  of  friction. 

In  the  early  period  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road, when  no  one  dreamed  of  steam,  horses  were  ex- 
pected to  do  the  work,  and  to  reduce  the  friction  of  the 
axles  in  the  boxes  was  the  object  to  be  achieved.  In 
this  extremity,  Ross  Winans,  Esq.,  now  living,  a  vener- 
able citizen  of  Baltimore,  came  to  the  rescue  with  his 
inventive  genius.  Dr.  William  Howard,  an  accom- 
plished and  scientific  gentleman,  had  already  patented 
the  application  of  the  ordinary  friction- wheel  to  a  car, 
where  the  main  journal  revolved  on  the  exterior 
periphery ;  but  Mr.  Winans  suspended  his  wheel  by  a 
projecting  flange,  on  the  interior  periphery  of  which  the 


ROSS  WINANS'S  IMPROVEMENTS.  105 

main  axle  revolved.  This  was  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  the 
friction-wheel,  and  Mr.  Winans  became  immortalized. 
B.  H.  Latrobe,  Esq.,  describes  a  scene  in  one  of  the  upper 
rooms  of  the  Baltimore  Exchange,  where  the  vener- 
able Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  who  was  the  great 
man,  on  all  important  occasions,  was  seated  in  a  little 
railroad  car,  drawn  by  a  small  weight  attached  to  a 
string  passing  over  a  pulley  and  dropping  into  the  hall 
below.  Around  him  were  all  the  prominent  men  of 
Baltimore ;  all  were  as  much  pleased  as  children  with  a 
new  toy.  In  fact,  there  was  a  verdant  freshness  about 
all  railroad  objects  in  those  days  which  it  is  wonderful 
to  conceive  in  this  period  of  advance  and  improvement. 
Not  only  was  friction  sought  to  be  avoided,  but  all 
sorts  of  experiments  were  tried,  to  improve  the  road.* 
To  ride  in  a  railroad-car,  in  those  days,  was  literally 
to  go  "  thundering  "  along.  The  roll  of  the  wheel  was 
hammering  the  iron  rails  out  of  existence.  When  this 
became  known,  after  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  had 
been  thrown  away,  one  of  the  directors,  a  man,  too,  of 
general  information,  proposed  to  lay  a  thin  slab  of  lead 
between  the-  iron  and  the  stone,  to  relieve  the  concus- 
sion. Luckily,  this  costly  experiment,  which  would 
have  furnished  the  sportsmen  of  the  interior  with  slugs 
and  bullets  without  cost,  was  not  carried  into  effect. 
We  only  mention  this  now,  to  show  how  crude  were 
the  notions  of  the  wisest  men,  touching  railroads  in  their 
infancy,  in  this  country,  and  to  indicate  the  obstacles 
our  forefathers  had  to  contend  with  in  the  early  days 
of  their  construction.  With  no  example  before  them 
to  follow,  with  no  experience  before  them  to  govern, 
every  thing  had  to  be  tested  by  actual  experiment. 

*  Iron  strips  were  laid,  for  miles  and  miles,  on  stone  curbs,  on  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad. 


L06         HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

FIRST     EXPERIMENTAL     LOCOMOTIVE. 

The  first  locomotive  ever  built  in  the  United  States 
was  constructed  to  determine  a  principle,  at  that  early 
period,  susceptible  of  a  great  diversity  of  opinions,  even 
among  the  engineers  and  scientific  men  of  that  day,  viz., 
the  ability  of  a  locomotive  to  keep  upon  the  track  in  run- 
ning a  curve.  When  steam  made  its  appearance  on  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railroad,  in  England,  it 
attracted  much  attention  in  this  countiy,  and  the  ques- 
tion of  its  early  adoption  became  the  subject  of  a  great 
deal  of  speculation  and  argument.  There  was  this  diffi- 
culty in  the  way  of  introducing  an  English  engine  upon 
an  American  road :  In  England  the  roads  were  virtually 
straight,  or  with  very  long  curves ;  but  in  America  they 
were  full  of  curves,  sometimes  of  as  small  a  radius  as 
two  hundred  feet.  There  was  not  capital  enough  in 
the  United  States,  applicable  to  railroad  purposes,  to 
justify  engineers  in  setting  Nature  at  defiance  in  their 
construction.  If  a  tunnel  through  a  spur  could  be  saved, 
in  an  American  railroad,  by  a  track  round  it,  the  tunnel 
would  be  avoided,  and  a  circuitous  route  adopted,  al- 
though the  distance  was  increased  for  miles  in  conse- 
quence ;  so,  if  embankments  could  be  saved  by  heading 
valleys  in  place  of  crossing  them,  it  was  done.  This  led 
to  sharp  curves  upon  the  American  roads,  where  there 
would  be  straight  lines  in  England. 

No  better  illustration  of  this  is  to  be  seen  than  near 
the  Relay  House,  or  Washington  Junction,  of  the  Balti- 


EXPERIMENTAL   LOCOMOTIVES.  107 

more  and  Ohio  Railroad,  where  the  curve,  as  the  road 
turned  into  the  gorge  of  the  Patapsco,  was  originally 
located,  with  less  than  three  hundred  feet  radius,  to 
avoid  the  necessity  of  the  cut  that  has  since  been  made 
through  the  rocky  northern  jaw  of  the  gorge.  A  tunnel, 
too,  is  now  cut  at  the  Point  of  Rocks,  through  the  hard 
intractable  material  which  is  there  met  with,  in  a  spur 
of  the  Catoctin  Mountain.  In  the  first  instance,  the 
road  was  located  to  avoid  it. 

The  first  locomotive,  then  built  to  demonstrate  its 
adaptability  to  a  curved  road,  was  constructed  by  Mr. 
Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York,  long  and  most  favorably 
known  as  the  founder  of  the  far-famed  Cooper  Institute 
in  that  city.  Mr.  Cooper's  locomotive  was  built  at  the 
St.  Clair  Works,  near  Baltimore,  and  was  first  run  upon 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  in  the  summer  of 
1829,  nearly  two  years  before  that  first  really  successful 
locomotive  (as  it  was  described  in  the  Ledger,  and  built 
by  Messrs.  Tyler  and  Baldwin)  was  tried  upon  the 
Germantown  and  Norristown  Railroad,  in  1832.  What 
success  Mr.  Cooper's  locomotive  displayed  on  its  first 
trial-trip  we  will  describe : 

The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  as  we  have  before 
stated,  was  the  first  of  any  extent  begun  in  America ; 
and  the  first  built  for  the  purposes  of  trade  and  com- 
merce, as  nearly  all  are  at  the  present  day.  Previous 
to  the  year  1826,  no  railroad,  even  in  England,  had  been 
constructed  for  the  general  conveyance  of  passengers 
or  merchandise  between  two  distant  points.  A  few 
railroads  had  been  constructed  for  local  purposes,  such 
as  the  conveyance  of  coal  or  ores  from  the  mines  to  the 
points  of  shipment  on  navigable  streams ;  but,  for  general 
purposes  of  travel  or  transportation,  they  were  still  re- 
garded as  an  untried  experiment,  and  the  question  had 


108        HISTORY    OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

not  been  settled  whether  stationary  engines  or  horse- 
power would  be  the  most  available.  The  Stockton  and 
Darlington  Railway,  the  Killingsworth,  and  several 
others  in  England,  all  coal-roads,  had  experimented 
with  locomotives,  but  no  one  of  them  was  satisfied 
that  the  locomotive  would  ever  advantageously  super- 
sede horse-power.  The  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Rail- 
road had  just  been  completed,  but  the  question  had  not 
been  settled  what  power  should  be  used  upon  it.  The 
same  might  be  said  of  railroads  in  America — one  or  two 
short  roads,  for  mining  purposes,  having  been  construc- 
ted, using  horse-power. 

We  have  devoted  the  foregoing  remarks  to  the 
early  history  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  not 
only  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  first  railroad  in  the 
United  States,  commenced  for  the  actual  traffic  and 
commerce  of  the  community  between  two  distant  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  the  far-off  West  with  the  East, 
but  because  it  was  the  railroad  upon  which  the  first 
locomotive  built  in  the  United  States  was  successfully 
introduced.  We  allude  to  the  machine  constructed  by 
Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  in  1829 ;  *  and,  although  this  was  but 
a  liliputian  affair,  it  nevertheless  became  the  forerun- 
ner of  a  race  of  iron  giants  who  sprang  into  existence  as 
soon  as  the  principle  was  established,  for  the  demonstra- 
tion of  which  Mr.  Cooper  had  brought  forth  his  "  Tom 
Thumb  "  locomotive.  The  cause  which  led  him,  at  this 
time,  to  deviate  from  the  path  of  his  legitimate  business, 
to  become  the  builder  of  the  first  American  locomotive, 
will  be  better  explained  by  the  perusal  of  his  letter  to 
the  author,  in  answer  to  some  inquiries  upon  that  sub- 
ject, dated 

*  First  experiment  made  m  that  year,  then  altered  and  successfully  experi 
mented  with  in  1830. 


EXPERIMENTAL   LOCOMOTIVES.  109 

New  York,  May  18,  1869 
Me.  William  H.  Brown — 

"My  dear  Sir  :  In  reply  to  your  kind  favor  of  the  10th  inst., 
I  write  to  say  that  I  am  not  sure  that  I  have  a  drawing  or  sketch 
of  the  little  locomotive  placed  by  me  on  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad,  in  the  summer  of  1829,  to  the  best  of  my  recol- 
lection. 

"  The  engine  was  a  very  small  and  insignificant  affair.  It  was 
made  at  a  time  when  I  had  become  the  owner  of  all  the  land  now 
belonging  to  the  Canton  Company,  the  value  of  which,  I  believe, 
depended  almost  entirely  upon  the  success  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad. 

"  At  that  time  an  opinion  had  become  prevalent  that  the  road 
was  ruined  for  steam  locomotives,  by  reason  of  the  short  curves 
found  necessary  to  get  around  the  various  points  of  rocks  found 
m  their  course.  Under  these  discouraging  circumstances  many 
of  the  principal  stockholders  were  about  abandoning  the  work, 
and  were  only  prevented  from  forfeiting  their  stock  by  my  persuad- 
ing them  that  a  locomotive  could  be  so  made  as  to  pass  success- 
fully around  the  short  curves  then  found  in  the  road,  which  only 
extended  thirteen  miles,  to  Ellicott's  Mills. 

"  When  I  had  completed  the  engine,  I  invited  the  directors  to 
witness  an  experiment,  Some  thirty-six  persons  entered  one  of 
the  passenger-cars,  and  four  rode  on  the  locomotive,  which  carried 
its  own  fuel  and  water;  and  made  the  first  passage,  of  thirteen 
miles,  over  an  average  ascending  grade  of  eighteen  feet  to  the  mile, 
in  one  hour  and  twelve  minutes.  We  made  the  return-trip  in 
fifty-seven  minutes. 

"  I  regret  my  inability  to  make  such  a  sketch  of  the  engine  as 
I  would  be  willing  to  send  you  at  this  moment,  without  further 
time  to  do  so. 

"  Yours  with  great  respect, 

"Pktbe  Cooper." 

The  following  letter  from  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe,  Esq., 
the  chief  engineer  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
during  its  construction,  addressed  to  the  author,  and 
containing  a  description  and  sketch  of  the  sailing-car 
invented  by  Mr.  Evan  Thomas,  and  experimented  with 
upon  the  road,  and  also  his  promise  of  a  future  sketch 


110         HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

of  the  Peter  Cooper  locomotive,  will  no  doubt  be  inter- 
esting to  our  readers : 

East  Hampton,  Long  Island,  August  4,  1869. 
Wm.  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  Your  letter  to  me,  of  the  26th  July,  has  been 
forwarded  to  me  at  this  place,  where  I  am  on  a  visit  with  my 
family.  It  will  give  me  pleasure  to  give  you  what  information  I 
can  upon  the  subject  upon  which  you  inquire,  but  I  cannot  do  this 
so  well  here,  as  I  could  after  my  return  to  Baltimore,  and  communi- 
cating with  my  brother,  who,  as  counsel  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  Company,  entered  its  service  a  couple  of  years  before  I 
did,  as  a  subordinate  in  the  engineer  corps,  on  the  1st  of  July,  1830. 

"  I  well  recollect  the  little  experimental  locomotive  of  Mr. 
Peter  Cooper,  and  also  the  sailing-car  of  Mr.  Evan  Thomas ;  but 
I  could  not  give  you  a  reliable  sketch  of  the  former  at  present, 
but,  as  to  the  latter,  it  was  '  a  basket  body,'  like  that  of  a  sleigh, 
and  had  a  mast,  and,  if  I  recollect, '  a  square  sail,  and  was  mounted 
upon  four  wheels  of  equal  size.'  It  ran  equally  well  in  either  direc- 
tion, but  of  course  only  in  that  in  which  the  wind  happened  to  be 
blowing  at  the  time,  although  it  would  go  with  the  wind  abaft  the 
beam,  but  at  a  speed  proportioned  to  the  angle  with  a  line  of  the 
sails.  It  was  but  a  clever  toy,  but  had  its  use  at  the  time  in  show- 
ing how  little  power  of  propulsion  was  necessary  upon  a  railway, 
compared  with  the  best  of  the  roads  that  had  preceded  it.  Mr. 
Cooper's  engine  had,  I  remember,  a  vertical  tubular  boiler,  and 
he  was,  at  the  time  of  its  being  placed  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  in  the  summer  of  1829,  regarded  as  the  first  suggester  of 
that  form  of  boiler,*  although  Mr.  Booth,  the  treasurer  of  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  had  proposed  it  for  the  Rocket 
engine  about  the  same  time ;  upon  this  point,  however,  I  am  not 
posted.  Were  I  at  home  I  would  refer  to  some  books  and  memo- 
randa there,  which,  together  with  an  interchange  of  recollections 
with  my  brother,  would  enable  me  to  speak  more  specifically.  The 
mode  of  applying  the  power  to  the  wheels  I  do  not  remember.  I 
had  just  entered  the  company's  service,  and  my  thoughts  were 
directed  more  to  learning  the  use  of  the  levelling  instrument  and 
transit,  and  how  to  run  curves  with  the  latter,  than  to  the  rolling 
machinery  of  the  railroad. 

*  Mr.  Cooper  has  since  informed  the  author  that,  for  want  of  regular  tubes  (not 
then  ever  used),  he  substituted  gun-barrels  for  tubes. 


EXPERIMENTAL  LOCOMOTIVES.  Ill 

"  I  recollect  very  distinctly,  however,  a  trip  which  this  little 
locomotive  of  '  Alderman  Cooper's,'  as  he  was  then  called,  made 
to  Ellicott's  Mills,  where  I  was  stationed.  It  must  have  been 
in  July  or  August,  1830.  It  brought  out  several  of  the  directors, 
and  my  brother  was  one  of  the  party,  and  I  remember  following 
it  a  little  distance  down  the  road,  after  it  had  started  with  much 
puffing  and  leaking  of  steam  from  some  of  its  joints. 

"  It  was  in  size  (and  power  too,  I  might  say)  about  the  scale  of 
Evan  Thomas's  sailing-car ;  yet  it  was,  as  the  first  step  in  the  use 
of  steam  on  that  road,  a  highly  important  one. 

"Its  fuel,  I  think,  was  anthracite  coal,  the  use  of  which,  in  the 
engines  which  succeeded  it,  was  a  favorite  idea  with  the  company, 
and  influenced  the  form  of  the  locomotives  employed  upon  the 
road  for  several  subsequent  years. 

"  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  stimulated  by  the  example 
of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  next  year  (1830)  offered 
a  premium  of  $500  to  the  constructor  of  the  locomotive  which 
would  draw  fifteen  tons,  gross  weight,  fifteen  miles  an  hour.  This 
advertisement  brought  upon  the  road  an  odd  collection  of  four  or 
five  original  American  ideas,  of  which  it  is  much  to  be  regretted 
that  photographs  and  indeed  detailed  drawings  have  not  been  pre- 
served. Among  these  was  a  rotary  engine,  by  a  Mr.  Childs,  which, 
I  believe,  never  made  a  revolution  of  its  wheels,  certainly  not  in 
the  form  of  the  locomotive.  The  engine  which  took  the  premium 
was  built  by  Mr.  Phineas  Davis,  which  was  the  model  for  those 
built  after  it  for  three  or  four  years. 

"  I  cannot  add  more  just  now,  and,  as  I  shall  not  be  in  Balti- 
more (except  to  post  this)  for  three  or  four  weeks,  I  must  delay 
writing  until  then. 

"  Respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

"  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe." 


112         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIEST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

PETER    COOPER    LOCOMOTIVE. 

Mr.  Latrobe's  next  letter  informed  the  author  that 
he  had  then  a  rough  sketch  of  the  Peter  Cooper  ma- 
chine, taken  by  his  brother,  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq., 
counsellor  for  the  company ;  but  he  desired  to  submit 
the  sketch  to  Mr.  Ross  Winans,  for  his  examination  and 
opinion,  before  he  transmitted  it. 

Baltimore,  November  20,  1869. 
Wm.  H.  Browx,  Esq. — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  I  have  now  seen  Mr.  Winans,  and  shown  him  the 
rough  sketch  of  the  Peter  Cooper  locomotive,  referred  to  in  my 
former  letter.  I  send,  upon  the  next  page,  a  copy  of  the  sketch, 
which  presents  as  near  an  approach  to  a  picture  of  the  machine  as 
at  this  distant  day  is  possible  to  exhibit.  Mr.  Ross  Winans  tells 
me  that  Mr.  Cooper  brought  the  boiler  from  New  York,  in  the 
spring  or  early  in  the  summer  of  1829;  and  it  was  on  a  frame, 
and  rested  on  four  wheels  belonging  to  the  company ;  the  road  was 
then  used  thirteen  miles  to  Ellicott's  Mills,  and  with  horse-power. 
The  boiler  was  tubular,  and  upright  in  position.  Mr.  Winans  does 
not  recollect  the  dimensions  of  it,  although  he  says  it  lay  in  his 
shops  for  several  years.  He  thinks  it  was  not  more  than  twenty 
inches  in  diameter,  and,  perhaps,  from  five  to  six  feet  high.  There 
was  a  single  cylinder  of  three  and  one-quarter  inches  in  diameter, 
fourteen  and  one-quarter  inches  stroke,  that  projected  its  piston- 
rod  and  connecting-rod,  so  as  to  take  hold  of  the  crank  by  direct 
action. 

"  On  the  crank-shaft,  which  rested  on  the  frame  of  the  car,  was 
a  spur-wheel  which  geared  with  a  pinion  on  the  forward  road- 
wheels  so  as  to  increase  speed ;  the  road-wheels  being  only  two 
and  one-half  feet  in  diameter. 

"  The  fuel  was  anthracite  coal,  and  an  artificial  draught,  in  the 
fire-box  at  the  bottom  of  the  boiler,  was  created  by  a  fan,  driven 
by  a  belt  passing  around  a  wooden  drum  attached  to  one  of  the 
road-wheels,  and  a  pulley  on  the  fan-shaft  as  shown  in  the  sketch. 


PETER   COOPER   LOCOMOTIVE.  113 

"  Mr.  Winans  says  that  Mr.  Cooper  at  first  proposed  to  com- 
municate the  reciprocating  motion  of  the  piston-rod  to  the  road- 
wheels  by  an  arrangement  which  I  cannot  accurately  describe,  but 
the  experiment  did  not  satisfy  Mr.  Cooper  on  trial,  and  the  com- 
mon crank  action  was  substituted,  and  the  favorable  results  ob- 
tained, which  are  described  in  Mr.  Winans's  letter  of  August  28, 
1830,  published  in  the  Railroad  Record  of  Cincinnati,  on  the  8th 
of  July  last.  Mr.  Cooper,  if  applied  to,  could  perhaps  furnish 
some  interesting  additional  particulars  about  this  engine,  which 
was  undoubtedly  the  very  first  American  locomotive. 

"  Mr.  Winans,  after  examining  the  sketch,  pronounces  it  sub- 
stantially correct  as  to  the  general  features  of  the  engine  ;  the 
details,  many  of  course  ideal,  must  be  very  defective.  The  num- 
ber, size,  and  length  of  the  tubes  are  not  known,  only  their  position 
in  the  boiler. 

"  The  road-wheels  were  two  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter ;  the 
axles  had  outside  bearings  upon  Winans's  friction  wheels.  The 
axle  on  which  the  pinion  was  fixed  was  kept  from  lateral  or  longi- 
tudinal movement,  so  as  to  preserve  its  position  with  respect  to 
the  spur-wheel. 

"  Your  friend's  sketch  of  the  horse-car,  you  sent  for  my  inspec- 
tion, gives  the  general  idea  of  it,  and  it  is  made  with  a  spirit  that 
shows  him  to  be  a  good  draughtsman  and  knowing  to  the  '  points 
of  a  horse,'  better  than  myself — the  thing  was  as  much  like  one 
of  those  horse-powers,  of  which  we  see  so  many,  along  railways 
at  the  stations,  for  cutting-up  wood  for  the  locomotives.  The 
hinged  or  slatted  platform,  on  which  the  horse  walked,  turned 
round  a  drum  ;  on  this  was  a  spur-wheel  working  in  a  pinion  on  the 
road-wheel  axle ;  so  that  this  gearing  gave  considerable  speed  to 
the  car,  with  a  moderate  one  to  the  horse.  I  remember  well  the 
adventure  with  the  cow,  mentioned  by  my  brother  in  his  lecture, 
to  which  you  refer.  I  agree  with  him  and  Mr.  Winans  that  the 
successful  experiment  with  the  Cooper  engine  was  in  1830,  as  it  was 
the  year  I  entered  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company's 
service,  and  some  of  the  particulars  are  permanently  fixed  upon 
my  memory. 

"  I  cannot  add  more  just  now,  and,  as  I  shall  not  be  in  Balti- 
more for  three  or  four  weeks,  I  must  delay  writing. 

"  Respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

"  Ben j.  H.  Lateobe." 


114         HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

In  1829  Mr.  Cooper  made  some  experiments  with 
his  little  locomotive,  built  upon  the  principle  he  first 
adopted ;  but,  as  it  did  not  perform  as  well  as  he  ex- 
pected and  desired,  he  changed  his  plan,  and,  after 
some  delays,  made,  as  one  may  say,  the  first  actual  ex- 
perimental trip  on  Saturday,  August  28,  1830.  A  full 
and  particular  account  of  this  experiment  has  been 
given  the  author  by  Mr.  Winans  himself,  who  was 
present  on  the  occasion,  and  took  a  lively  interest  in 
the  result.     Mr.  Winans  writes : 

"  On  Saturday,  the  28th  of  August  last,  1830,  the  first  railroad- 
car  propelled  by  steam  proceeded  the  whole  distance  from  Balti- 
more to  Ellicott's  Mills,  and  tested  a  most  important  principle — that 
curvatures  of  400  feet  radius  offer  no  material  impediment  to  the 
use  of  steam-power  on  railroads,  when  the  wheels  are  constructed 
with  a  cone,  on  the  principle  ascertained  by  Mr.  Knight,  chief 
engineer  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  to  be  ap- 
plicable to  such  curvatures.  The  engineers  in  England  have  been 
so  decidedly  of  opinion  that  locomotive  steam-engines  could  not 
be  used  on  curved  rails,  that  it  was  much  doubted  whether  the 
many  curvatures  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  would  not  ex- 
clude the  use  of  steam-power.  We  congratulate  our  fellow-citizens 
on  the  conclusive  proof,  which  removes  forever  all  doubt  on  this 
subject,  and  establishes  the  fact  that  steam-power  may  be  used  on 
our  road  with  as  much  facility  and  effect  as  that  of  horses,  at  a 
very  reduced  expense. 

"  The  engine  "  (Cooper's  locomotive-engine)  "  started  from  Pratt 
Street  depot,  taking  the  lead  of  a  train  of  carriages.  The  power 
of  the  engine  is  a  little,  if  any,  over  that  of  one  horse,  and  it  can 
therefore  only  be  regarded  as  a  working  model.  Immediately  on 
front  of,  and  connected  with  it,  was  a  passenger-carriage  contain- 
ing (including  the  engine  attendants)  twenty-four  persons.  The 
aggregate  weight  of  carriages,  persons,  fuel,  and  water,  as  nearly 
as  could  be  ascertained,  was  estimated  to  be  from  four  to  four 
and  a  half  tons.  Notwithstanding  the  great  disproportion  of  the 
moving  power  to  the  load,  the  following  highly-gratifying  results 
were  obtained;  the  time  was  accurately  noted  by  disinterested 
gentlemen,  of  the  first  respectability : 


PETER   COOPER   LOCOMOTIVE  115 

First  mile — performed  in  six  minutes  ana  ifty  seconds,  the 
steam  in  the  onset  not  being  fully  raised. 

Second  mile — performed  in  five  minutes  ;  one  minute  was  lost 
in  altering  the  switch,  to  pass  from  one  track  to  the  other. 

Third  mile — travelled  in  six  minutes ;  two  minutes  lost  in 
changing  from  one  track  to  the  other,  the  switch  not  being  in  the 
right  place. 

Fourth  mile — was  travelled  in  four  minutes  and  thirty  seconds. 

Fifth  mile — occupied  five  minutes  and  twenty-five  seconds. 

Sixth  mile — travelled  in  six  minutes ;  one  minute  was  lost  in 
changing  to  the  other  track. 

Seventh  mile — travelled  in  five  minutes  and  thirty  seconds ;  the 
engine  stoped  at  the  middle  depot  for  fifteen  minutes  to  receive  a 
supply  of  water. 

Eighth  mile — performed  in  six  minutes. 

Ninth  mile — performed  in  five  minutes  and  forty-five  seconds, 
the  engine  traversing  an  ascent  of  thirteen  feet  per  mile,  and  en- 
countering the  numerous  curves  which  abound  in  this  part  of  the 
road. 

Tenth  mile — performed  in  seven  minutes;  the  engine  still 
ascending  at  the  rate  of  thirteen  feet  per  mile,  and  the  road  much 
curved. 

Eleventh  mile — in  seven  minutes  and  thirty  seconds  ;  the  same 
disadvantages  of  an  ascending  and  curved  line  of  road  being  still 
encountered. 

Twelfth  mile — in  seven  minutes  and  thirty  seconds ;  the  ascent 
here  being  increased  to  eighteen  feet  per  mile  and  the  line  curved. 

Thirteenth  mile — in  six  minutes  and  thirty  seconds,  the  same 
disadvantages  of  an  ascending  and  curved  line  being  encountered 
as  on  the  preceding  mile. 

"  Making  the  aggregate  passage  of  thirteen  miles,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances detailed,  in  the  space  of  one  hour  and  fifteen  minutes. 

"  On  the  return  of  the  locomotive-engine  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  the  following  results  were  realized,  there  being  four  addi- 
tional passengers,  or  thirty  in  all,  seated  in  the  attached  carriage : 

First  mile — travelled  in  five  minutes. 

Second  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes. 

Third  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes  six  seconds. 

Fourth  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes. 

Fifth  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes  four  seconds. 


116         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

Sixth  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes  five  seconds. 

(Four  minutes  occupied  in  taking  in  a  supply  of  water.) 
Seventh  mile — travelled  in  five  minutes. 
Eighth  mile — travelled  in  three  minutes  fifty  seconds. 
Ninth  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes  twenty-five  seconds. 
Tenth  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes  ten  seconds. 
Eleventh  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes  forty  seconds. 
Twelfth  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes  fifty  seconds. 
Thirteenth  mile — travelled  in  four  minutes  fifty  seconds. 

Making  the  entire  passage  of  thirteen  miles  in  sixty-one  minutes, 
including  the  four  minutes  lost  in  taking  in  water  at  the  middle 
depot.  If  this  -be  deducted,  it  will  give  precisely  fifty-seven  min- 
utes in  travelling  the  distance. 

"  It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  are  experiments 
merely,  and  that  several  material  improvements  have  already  sug- 
gested themselves  to  the  inventor.  The  result,  under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, is  highly  satisfactory,  and  constitutes  another  triumph 
of  the  efforts  of  American  genius." 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


As  much  as  we  have  written  and  quoted  respecting 
this  first  experimental  locomotive  of  Mr.  Peter  Cooper, 
we  still  cannot  leave  the  subject  without  giving  our 
readers  a  description  of  that  first  trip,  from  the  pen  of 
H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq.,  the  counsellor  of  the  company, 
who  was  one  of  the  passengers  on  that  occasion.  Mr. 
Latrobe  thus  describes  the  adventure  : 

"  For  a  brief  season  it  was  believed  that  this  feature  of  the 
early  American  roads  would  prevent  the  use  of  locomotive-engines. 
The  contrary  was  demonstrated  by  a  gentleman  still  living  in  an 
active  and  ripe  old  age,  honored  and  beloved,  distinguished  for 
his  private  worth  and  for  his  public  benefactions ;  one  of  those  to 


LATROBE'S   DESCRIPTION.  117 

whom  wealth  seems  to  have  been  granted  by  Providence  that  men 
might  know  how  wealth  might  be  used  to  benefit  one's  fellow- 
creatures.  The  speaker  refers  to  Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York. 
Mr.  Cooper  was  satisfied  that  steam  might  be  adapted  to  the 
curved  roads  which  he  saw  would  be  built  in  the  United  States  ; 
and  he  came  to  Baltimore,  which  then  possessed  the  only  one  on 
which  he  could  experiment  to  vindicate  his  belief,  and  he  built 
an  engine  to  demonstrate  his  belief.  The  machine  was  not 
larger  than  the  hand-cars  used  by  workmen  to  transfer  them- 
selves from  place  to  place ;  and,  as  the  writer  now  recalls  its  ap- 
pearance, the  only  wonder  is,  that  so  apparently  insignificant  a 
contrivance  could  ever  have  been  regarded  as  competent  to  the 
smallest  results.  But  Mr.  Cooper  was  wiser  than  many  of  the 
wisest  around  him.  His  engine  could  not  have  weighed  a  ton,  but 
he  saw  in  it  a  principle  which  the  forty-ton  engines  of  to-day  have 
but  served  to  develop  and  demonstrate. 

"  The  boiler  of  Mr.  Cooper's  engine  was  not  as  large  as  the 
kitchen  boiler  attached  to  many  a  range  in  modern  mansions ;  it 
was  of  about  the  same  diameter,  but  not  much  more  than  half  as 
high.  It  stood  upright  in  the  car,  and  was  filled  above  the  furnace, 
which  occupied  the  lower  section,  with  vertical  tubes.  The  cylin- 
der was  but  three  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  and  speed  was 
gotten  up  by  gearing.  No  natural  draught  could  have  been  suffi- 
cient to  keep  up  steam  in  so  small  a  boiler  ;  and  Mr.  Cooper  used, 
therefore,  a  blowing-apparatus,  driven  by  a  drum  attached  to  one 
of  the  car-wheels,  over  which  passed  a  cord  that  in  its  turn 
worked  a  pulley  on  the  shaft  of  the  blower.  Among  the  first 
buildings  erected  at  Mount  Clare  was  a  large  car-house,  in  which 
railroad-tracks  were  laid  at  right  angles  with  the  road-track,  com- 
municating with  the  latter  by  a  turn-table,  a  liliputian  affair  in- 
deed compared  with  the  revolving  platforms,  its  successors,  now 
in  use. 

"  In  this  car-shop,  Mr.  Cooper  had  his  engine,  and  here  steam 
was  first  raised ;  and  it  seems  as  though  it  were  within  the  last 
week  that  the  speaker  saw  Mr.  George  Brown,  the  treasurer  of  the 
company,  one  of  our  most  estimable  citizens,  his  father  Mr.  Alex- 
ander Brown,  Mr.  Philip  E.  Thomas,  and  one  or  two  more,  watch 
Mr.  Cooper,  as  with  his  own  hands  he  opened  the  throttle,  ad- 
mitted the  steam  into  the  cylinder,  and  saw  the  crank-substitute 
operate  successfully  with  a  clacking  noise,  while  the  machine 
moved   slowly  forward  with    some  of   the    by-standers,   who  had 


118        HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

stepped  upon  it.  And  this  was  the  first  locomotive  for  railroad 
purposes  ever  built  in  America ;  and  this  was  the  first  transpor- 
tation of  persons  by  steam  that  had  ever  taken  place  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  on  an  American-built  locomotive. 

"  Mr.  Cooper's  success  was  such  as  to  induce  him  to  try  a  trip 
to  Ellicott's  Mills,  on  which  occasion  an  open  car,  the  first  used 
upon  the  road  already  mentioned,  having  been  attached  to  the 
engine,  and  filled  with  the  directors  and  some  friends,  the  speaker 


Fig.  9. 


A   SIDE   VIEW   OF   PETEK   COOPER'S   LOCOMOTIVE,    THE    "  TOM   THUMB." 
[From  an  original  drawing  expressly  for  this  work.] 


among  the  rest,  the  first  journey  by  steam  in  America  on  an 
American  locomotive  was  commenced.  The  trip  was  most  inter- 
esting. The  curves  were  passed  without  difficulty,  at  a  speed  of 
fifteen  miles  an  hour ;  the  grades  were  ascended  with  comparative 
ease ;  the  day  was  fine,  the  company  in  the  highest  spirits,  and 
some  excited  gentlemen  of  the  party  pulled  out  memorandum-books, 
and  when  at  the  highest  speed,  which  was  eighteen  miles  an  hour, 
wrote  their  names  and  some  connected  sentences,  to  prove  that 
even  at  that  great  velocity  it  was  possible  to  do  so.    The  return  trip 


Exciting  Trial  of  Speed  between  Mr.  Peter  Cooper's  Locomotive,  "  Tom  Thumb,"  and  one  of  Stockton  &  Stokes's  Horse-Cars. 


The  trial  took  place  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  on  the  28th  August,  1830.     The  sketch  represents  the  moment  the  Engine  overtook  and  passed  the  Horse-Car,  the  passengers  filled  with  excitement. 

(See  Mr.  Latrobe's  description,  page  116.) 


LATROBE'S  DESCRIPTION.  119 

from  the  Mills,  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles,  was  made  in  fifty-seven 
minutes.  This  was  in  the  summer  of  1830,  but  the  triumph  of 
this  Tom  Thumb  engine  was  not  altogether  without  a  drawback. 
The  great  stage  proprietors  of  the  day  were  Stockton  and  Stokes  ; 
and  on  that  occasion  a  gallant  gray,  of  great  beauty  and  power,  was 
driven  by  them  from  town,  attached  to  another  car  on  the  second 
track — for  the  company  had  begun  by  making  two  tracks  to  the 
Mills — and  met  the  engine  at  the  Relay  House,  on  its  way  back. 
From  this  point  it  was  determined  to  have  a  race  home ;  and,  the 
start  being  even,  away  went  horse  and  engine,  the  snort  of  the  one 
and  the  puff  of  the  other  keeping  time  and  time. 

"  At  first  the  gray  had  the  best  of  it,  for  his  steam  would  be 
applied  to  the  greatest  advantage  on  the  instant,  while  the  engine 
had  to  wait  until  the  rotation  of  the  wheels  set  the  blower  to 
work.  The  horse  was  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead,  when 
the  safety-valve  of  the  engine  lifted,  and  the  thin  blue  vapor  issu- 
ing from  it  showed  an  excess  of  steam.  The  blower  whistled,  the 
steam  blew  off  in  vapory  clouds,  the  pace  increased,  the  passengers 
shouted,  the  engine  gained  on  the  horse,  soon  it  lapped  him — 
the  silk  was  plied — the  race  was  neck  and  neck,  nose  and  nose- 
then  the  engine  passed  the  horse,  and  a  great  hurrah  hailed  the 
victory.  But  it  was  not  repeated,  for  just  at  this  time,  wThen  the 
gray  master  was  about  giving  up,  the  band  which  drove  the  pulley, 
which  moved  the  blower,  slipped  from  the  drum,  the  safety-valve 
ceased  to  scream,  and  the  engine,  for  want  of  breath,  began  to 
wheeze  and  pant.  In  vain  Mr.  Cooper,  who  was  his  own  en- 
gineer and  fireman,  lacerated  his  hands  in  attempting  to  replace 
the  band  upon  the  wheel ;  in  vain  he  tried  to  urge  the  fire  with 
light  wood :  the  horse  gained  on  the  machine  and  passed  it,  and, 
although  the  band  was  presently  replaced,  and  steam  again  did 
its  best,  the  horse  was  too  far  ahead  to  be  overtaken,  and  came  in 
the  winner  of  the  race.  But  the  real  victory  was  with  Mr.  Cooper, 
notwithstanding.  He  had  held  fast  to  the  faith  that  was  in  him, 
and  had  demonstrated  its  truth  beyond  peradventure.  All  honor 
to  his  name !  In  a  patent-case,  tried  many  years  afterward,  the 
boiler  of  Mr.  Cooper's  engine  became,  in  some  connection  which 
has  been  forgotten,  important  as  a  piece  of  evidence.  It  was 
hunted  for  and  found  among  some  old  rubbish  at  Mount  Clair.  It 
was  difficult  to  imagine  that  it  had  ever  generated  steam  enough 
to  drive  a  coffee-mill,  much  less  that  it  had  performed  the  feats 
here  narrrated.  In  the  3Iusee  <P Artillerie  at  Paris  there  are  pre- 
served old  cannon,  contemporary,  almost,  with  Crecy  and  Poictiers. 


120        HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

In  some  great  museum  of  internal  improvement,  and  some  such  will 
at  a  future  day  be  gotten  up,  Mr.  Peter  Cooper's  boiler  should 
hold  an  equalty  prominent  and  far  more  honored  place ;  for,  while 
the  old  weapons  of  destruction  were  ministers  of  man's  wrath, 
the  contrivance  we  have  described  was  one  of  the  most  potential 
instruments  in  making  available,  in  America,  that  vast  system 
which  unites  remote  people,  and  promotes  that  peace  on  earth  and 
good-will  to  men  which  angels  have  proclaimed." 

We  will  also  take  pleasure  here  in  laying  before  onr 
readers  the  following  highly-interesting  letter  from 
Ross  Winans,  Esq.,  the  inventor  of  the  friction-wheels 
now  in  general  nse  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. 
It  gives  a  comparative  view  of  the  performance  of  the 
locomotive-engine  of  the  Messrs.  Stephenson,  of  Eng- 
land, contrasted  with  that  of  Mr.  Cooper : 

Baltimore,  August  28,  1830. 
Philip  E.  Thomas,  Esq.,  President  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
Company — 

"  Sir  :  The  performance  of  the  working  model  of  experimental 
locomotive-engine  of  Mr.  Cooper  has  been  such  to-day  as  to  induce 
me  to  attempt  a  hasty  comparison  of  its  dimensions  and  perform- 
ances with  some  of  the  late  celebrated  English  locomotives,  hav- 
ing witnessed  the  grand  locomotive  exhibition  at  Liverpool  in 
October  last,  for  the  £500  purse,  and  many  other  interesting  ex- 
periments by  the  Novelty  and  Rocket  since  that  time.  As  Mr. 
Cooper's  engine  has  been  got  up  in  a  temporary  manner,  and  for 
experiment  only,  and  has  been  on  the  road  but  a  few  days,  it  will 
be  no  more  than  justice  to  make  the  comparison  with  some  of  the 
early  experiments  of  the  English  engines.  I  have,  therefore,  se- 
lected the  experiment  of  the  Rocket  in  October,  on  the  result  of 
which  the  premium  of  £500  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Stephenson,  its 
builder,  for  having  produced  the  most  efficient  locomotive-engine, 
etc. 

"  The  Rocket  is  professedly  an  eight  horse-power  when  working 
at  a  moderate  speed,  but,  when  working  at  high  velocities,  she  is 
said  to  be  more  than  eight  horse-power.  Its  furnace  is  two  feet 
wide  by  three  feet  high ;  the  boiler  is  six  feet  long  and  three  feet 
in  diameter. 


ROSS  WINANS'S   COMPARISONS.  121 

"  The  furnace  is  outside  of  the  main  boiler,  and  has  an  external 
casing,  between  which  and  the  fireplace  there  is  a  space  of  three 
inches  filled  with  water  and  communicating  with  the  boiler.  The 
heated  air  from  the  furnace  is  circulated  through  the  boiler  by 
means  of  twenty-five  pipes  of  two  inches  internal  diameter.  It  has 
two  working  cylinders  of  eight  inches  internal  diameter  and  fifteen 
inches  in  length  each,  or  thereabouts.  The  road-wheels  to  which 
the  motion  is  communicated  are  four  feet  eight  and  a  half  inches 
in  diameter.  Mr.  Cooper's  engine  has  but  one  working  cylinder 
of  three  and  one-fourth  inches  diameter,  and  fourteen  and  a  half 
inch  stroke  of  piston,  with  a  boiler  proportionably  small,  or  nearly 
so.  The  wheels  of  the  engine  to  which  the  motion  is  communi- 
cated are  two  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter,  making  it  necessary  to 
gear  with  wheel  and  pinion  to  get  speed,  by  which  means  a  con- 
siderable consumption  of  power  is  experienced.  Tou  will  perceive 
by  the  foregoing  that  the  capacity,  or  number  of  cubic  inches,  con- 
tained in  the  cylinder  of  Mr.  Cooper's  engine  is  only  about  one- 
fourteenth  part  of  that  contained  in  the  two  cylinders  of  the  Rocket; 
consequently,  it  can  only  use  one-fourteenth  the  quantity  of  steam 
under  the  same  pressure  when  each  engine  is  making  the  same 
number  of  strokes  per  minute,  which  is  nearly  the  case  when  the 
two  engines  are  going  at  equal  speed  on  the  road.  The  total 
weight  moved  in  the  experiment  above  alluded  to  by  the  Rocket, 
including  her  own  weight,  was  seventeen  tons  on  the  level  road 
at  an  average  speed  of  twelve  and  a  half  miles  the  hour,  thereby 
exhibiting  (agreeably  to  Vignoles's  late  table  of  the  power  of  loco- 
motive-engines) a  little  less  than  a  six-horse  engine. 

"  Mr.  Cooper's  engine  has  to-day  moved  a  gross  weight  of  four 
and  a  half  tons  from  the  depot  to  Ellicott's  Mills  and  back  in  the 
space  of  two  hours  and  ten  minutes,  which,  as  you  are  aware,  the 
distance  being  twenty-six  miles,  gives  an  average  speed  of  twelve 
miles  to  the  hour.  As  the  engine  returned  with  its  load  to  the 
same  point  whence  it  started,  the  acclivities  and  declivities 
of  the  road  were,  of  course,  balanced ;  and  at  least  as  much  time 
and  power  (if  not  more)  were  required  to  traverse  the  whole  dis- 
tance as  would  have  been  on  a  level  road ;  therefore  (agreeably 
to  the  aforesaid  tables  of  M.  Vignoles)  Mr.  Cooper's  engine  ex- 
hibited an  average  force  during  the  time  it  was  running  of  1.43 
horse  power,  or  nearly  one  and  a  half,  which  is  more  than  three 
times  as  much  power  as  the  Rocket  exhibited  during  the  experi- 
ment above  described,  in  proportion  to  the  cylindrical  capacity  of 


122         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

the  respective  engines.  This,  no  doubt,  originated  in  a  consider- 
able degree  from  the  steam  being  used  in  Mr.  Cooper's  engine  at 
a  higher  pressure  than  in  the  Rocket.  We  are,  however,  not  able 
to  come  to  any  very  correct  conclusion  as  to  what  extent  this 
cause  prevailed  (Mr.  Cooper's  steam-gauge  not  being  accurately 
weighed),  which  prevents  a  more  minute  comparison  being  made. 
It  may  be  said  that  subsequent  practice  and  experience  with  the 
Rocket  have  enabled  her  constructor  to  produce  more  favorable 
results,  which  is  no  doubt  the  case ;  but  we  have  every  reason 
to  expect  a  similar  effect  with  regard  to  Mr.  Cooper's  engine,  judg- 
ing from  what  we  have  witnessed,  each  exhibition  of  its  power 
being,  as  yet,  an  improvement  upon  the  one  that  preceded  it.  It 
is,  however,  too  small  and  too  temporary  in  its  construction  to 
expect  a  great  deal,  from  the  friction  of  the  parts ;  the  beat  lost  in 
a  small  engine  being  much  greater  in  proportion  to  the  power 
than  in  a  large  one.  But  to-day's  experiments  must,  I  think,  es- 
tablish, beyond  a  doubt,  the  practicability  of  using  locomotive 
steam-power  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  for  the  convey- 
ance of  passengers  and  goods  at  such  speed  and  with  such  safety 
(when  compared  with  other  modes)  as  will  be  perfectly  satisfac- 
tory to  all  parties  concerned,  and  with  such  economy  as  must  be 
highly  flattering  to  the  interests  of  the  company.  It  has  been 
doubted  by  many  whether  the  unavoidable  numerous  short  curves 
on  the  line  of  your  road  and  inclined  planes  would  not  render  the 
use  of  locomotive-power  impracticable ;  but  the  velocity  with 
which  we  have  been  propelled  to-day  by  steam-power  round  some 
of  the  shortest  curves  (to  wit,  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  miles  per 
hour)  without  the  slightest  appearance  of  danger,  and  with  very 
little,  if  any,  increased  resistance,  as  there  was  no  appreciable  fall- 
ing off  in  the  rate  of  speed,  and  the  slight  diminution  in  speed  in 
passing  up  the  inclined  planes,  some  of  which  were  nearly  twenty 
feet  to  the  mile,  must,  I  think,  put  an  end  to  such  doubts,  and  at 
once  show  the  capability  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  to  do 
much  more  than  was  at  first  anticipated  or  promised  by  its  pro- 
jectors and  supporters. 

"  Yery  respectfully, 

"Ross  Wdtans." 


HORSE   AND   SAILING   CARS. 


123 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

HOESE    AND     SAILING     CARS. 

As  we  stated  in  a  previous  page,  a  competitor  that 
steam  had  to  contend  with  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  was  "  horse-power."  A  horse  was  placed  in 
a  car  and  made  to  walk  on  an  endless  apron  or  belt, 

Fig.  10. 


HORSE-POWER   LOCOMOTIVE. 


and  to  communicate  motion  to  the  wheels,  as  in  the 
horse-power  machines  of  the  present  day.  The  machine 
worked  indifferently  well ;  but,  on  one  occasion,  when 


124         HISTOKY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

drawing  a  car  filled  with  editors  and  other  representa- 
tives of  the  press,  it  ran  into  a  cow,  and  the  passengers, 
having  been  tilted  out  and  rolled  down  an  embank- 
ment, were  naturally  enough  unanimous  in  condemning 
the  contrivance.  And  so  the  horse-power  car,  after 
countless  bad  jokes  had  been  perpetrated  on  the  cowed 
editors,  passed  out  of  existence,  and  probably  out  of 
mind. 

Following  the  horse-power  car  came  the  Meteor. 
This  was  a  sailing- vehicle,  the  invention  of  Mr.  Evan 
Thomas,  who  was,  perhaps,  the  first  person,  as  already 
mentioned,  who  advocated  railroads  in  Baltimore.  The 
Meteor  required  a  good  gale  to  drive  it,  and  would  only 
run  when  the  wind  was  what  sailors  call  abaft,  or  on 
the  quarter.  Head-winds  were  fatal  to  it,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  was  afraid  to  trust  a  strong  side-wind  lest  the 
vehicle  might  be  upset ;  so  it  rarely  made  its  appearance 
except  a  northwester  was  blowing,  when  it  would  be 
dragged  out  to  the  farther  end  of  the  Mount  Clair  em- 
bankment, and  come  back,  literally  with  flying  colors. 
The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  being  the  first  in  oper- 
ation in  this  country,  and '  almost  the  first  in  the  world 
for  the  transportation  of  passengers  and  merchandise, 
of  course  was  visited  by  crowds  from  almost  every  sec- 
tion of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  from  parts  of  Eu- 
rope. Among  them  was  Baron  Krudener,  envoy  from 
Russia,  who,  by  invitation  of  Mr.  Thomas,  made  an  ex- 
cursion in  the  sailing-car,  managing  the  sail  himself. 
On  his  return  from  the  trip,  he  declared  he  had  never 
before  travelled  so  agreeably.  Mr.  Thomas  caused  a 
model  sailing-car  to  be  constructed,  which  he  presented 
to  the  baron,  with  the  respects  of  the  company,  to  be  for- 
warded to  the  emperor.  This  courtesy  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Thomas  was  handsomely  acknowledged  by  the  baron. 


HORSE  AND   SAILING   CARS. 


125 


Like  the  torse-car,  the  sailing-car  had  its  day.  It 
was  an  amusing  toy— nothing  more — and  is  referred  to 
now  as  an  illustration  of  the  crudity  of  the  ideas  pre- 
vailing forty  years  ago  in  reference  to  railroads. 


Fig.  11. 


SAILING-OAK. 


It  was  after  the  demonstration  by  Peter  Cooper  that 
the  Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  Kailroad  Company, 
now  the  Northern  Central,  imported  the  Herald  from 
England.  It  ran  off  the  track  continually,  and  was 
useless.  Its  unfitness,  with  its  large  wheels,  for  use  on 
our  curved  roads  was  at  once  apparent,  and  it  had  to 
be  altered  to  obviate  the  difficulty.     It  was,  however, 


126         HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

antedated  by  the  engine  of  Mr.  Cooper  and  other  locomo- 
tives, as  we  shall  show ;  yet  it  excited  great  admiration 
for  its  beauty,  and  even  its  driver,  an  Englishman  named 
John,  became  a  person  of  consequence.  When  he  came 
down  from  the  engine  to  oil  it,  the  crowd  surrounded 
him,  as  the  boys  at  a  race  surround  the  dismounted 
jockeys  on  the  course.  The  whole  American  world 
were  railroad  children  in  the  days  we  speak  of. 

The  contest  for  the  right  of  way  along  the  Potomac 
between  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  and  the 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal  Companies — the  prelimi- 
nary proceedings,  in  which  counsel  on  both  sides,  with 
surveyors  at  their  heels  like  moss-troopers,  scouted  the 
banks  of  the  river  from  the  Point  of  Rocks  to  Williams- 
port,  ferreted  out  the  proprietors  of  almost  inaccessible 
cliffs,  besieged  them  in  their  dwellings  to  obtain  grants 
of  the  right  of  way,  described  what  railroads  were, 
oftentimes  to  men  whose  knowledge  of  highways  was 
confined  to  mountain-paths,  made  diagrams  and  draw- 
ings of  cars  and  tracks  unlike  any  thing  that  ever  ex- 
isted before  or  which  ever  came  afterward,  and  were 
believed  by  an  ignorance  that  was  only  greater  than 
their  own — these  proceedings  alone  would  furnish  more 
than  a  dozen  chapters,  but  our  limits  will  not  allow  us 
to  record  them.  The  route  to  the  mountains  lay  up  the 
valley  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  struggle  for  priority  of 
claim  was  a  prolonged  and  exciting  one. 


^s 


- 


'm4$&* 


I'ETER    COOPT-P. 


PETER   COOPER.  127 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

PETEE     COOPER. 

Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York,  like  his  great 
contemporary,  George  Stephenson,  of  England,  may  be 
justly  looked  upon  as  the  pioneer  of  the  locomotive 
system  in  America.  Undoubtedly  he  built  the  first 
locomotive  ever  constructed  here ;  and  although  (as  we 
have  stated  before)  his  little  machine  was  not  intended 
for  practical  purposes  or  employment  upon  a  railroad, 
yet  it  was  designed  to  demonstrate  a  fact  then  very 
much  doubted,  namely,  the  ability  of  a  locomotive  to 
travel  on  the  short-curved  roads  in  this  country,  which 
Mr.  Cooper's  successful  performance  set  at  rest  forever. 
Like  George  Stephenson,  Mr.  Cooper  commenced  his 
career  in  life  from  the  very  foot  of  the  ladder,  and,  like 
him  also,  by  his  indomitable  perseverance  and  industry, 
clambered  step  by  step  from  one  round  to  another,  as- 
cending until  he  reached  the  proud  pinnacle  of  the  top- 
most round,  as  a  pioneer  in  the  great  achievements  of 
the  locomotive,  now  an  indispensable  necessity  for  the 
successful  prosecution  of  trade  and  commerce  through- 
out the  world. 

From  New  York  Evening  Mail,  July  1,  1869. 

"  The  history  of  a  poor  boy,  without  education  or  influential 
friends,  who,  by  honesty,  industry,  and  persistence,  raised  himself 
to  a  position  of  wealth  and  reputation,  cannot  but  be  interesting. 
Such,  if  properly  told,  would  be  the  life  of  Peter  Cooper — a  man 
who,  perhaps,  as  much  as  any  other  citizen  of  New  York,  has  left 
his  mark  on  his  associates,  and  has  placed  his  name  in  imperish- 
able remembrance. 

"  He  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  February  12,  1791.    His 


128         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

maternal  grandfather,  John  Campbell,  was  Mayor  of  New  York, 
and  deputy  quartermaster-general  during  the  Revolutionary  War, 
in  which  his  father  also  served  as  a  lieutenant.  Mr.  Cooper's 
father  was  a  respectable  hatter,  and,  as  soon  as  young  Cooper  was 
old  enough  to  pick  fur  from  the  rabbit-skins  used  in  making  hats, 
he  was  set  to  work.  He  had  no  opportunities  for  education,  and 
only  attended  school  one  or  two  months  in  his  life.  '  I  have  never 
had  any  time  to  get  an  education,'  he  once  almost  pathetically  re- 
marked, '  and  all  that  I  know  I  have  had  to  pick  up  as  I  went 
along.' 

"  He  remained  in  the  hat  business  with  his  father  until  he  had 
mastered  it  in  all  its  branches,  and  during  much  of  the  time,  after 
he  had  finished  his  labors  for  the  day,  he  would  work  until  late  at 
night  with  some  carver's  tools  which  his  grandmother  gave  him,  in 
order  to  eke  out  his  small  wages. 

"  We,  who  go  to  our  places  of  business  at  nine,  or  less,  and 
leave  at  five,  can  little  realize  the  toil  which  falls  to  the  lot  of 
mechanics.  The  Cooper  Institute  is  the  result  of  the  recollections 
of  those  early  days,  and  was  intended  to  help  poor  boys  in  the 
same  situation  as  he  had  been.  Young  Cooper  afterward  went 
into  the  brewing  business,  at  which  he  remained  about  two  years. 
He  then  served  the  usual  apprenticeship  to  coach  making,  and 
finally  went  into  the  cloth-shearing  business  with  his  brother.  For 
some  time  he  succeeded  very  well,  but  after  the  War  of  1812  his 
business  was  so  injured  by  the  introduction  of  foreign  cloths  that 
he  left  it  and  began  cabinet-making.  He  gave  this  up  after  a 
while,  and  opened  a  grocery-store  on  the  present  site  of  the  Cooper 
Union,  where  he  carried  on  a  small  retail  trade  for  some  time.  He 
finally  bought  a  woollen  factory  with  his  savings,  and  since  that 
time  has  steadily  prospered.  He  has  since  tried  his  hand  at  other 
kinds  of  business,  but  the  largest  part  of  his  fortune  was  gained 
by  the  manufacture  of  glue  and  by  his  iron-works.  He  has  shown 
a  Yankee  talent  for  undertaking  different  speculations,  as  well  as 
great  shrewdness  and  prudence  in  conducting  them. 

"  In  1830  he  erected  extensive  iron-works  at  Canton,  near  Bal- 
timore, where  he  built  from  his  own  designs  the  first  locomotive 
ever  turned  out  on  this  continent.  He  carried  on  large  wire  and  roll- 
ing mills  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  and  was  the  first  person  to  roll 
wrought-iron  beams  for  fire-proof  buildings.  He  has  been  much 
interested  in  the  progress  of  telegraphy,  and  has  been  an  officer  in 
several  leading  telegraph  associations. 


PETER   COOPER.  129 

"  It  was  while  serving  as  an  alderman,  forty  years  ago,  that 
Mr.  Cooper  conceived  the  idea  of  the  '  Cooper  Union.'  A  fellow- 
officer  who  had  visited  the  iScoles  d?  Industrie,  in  Paris,  and  been 
much  impressed  with  their  utility  and  attractions,  described  them 
to  him  and  suggested  that  they  would  be  well  suited  for  introduc- 
tion into  this  country.  The  thought  thus  planted  in  Mr.  Cooper's 
mind,  remained  for  long  years,  germinated,  took  root,  and  grew 
into  the  accomplishment  of  his  design. 

"  Let  those  who  think  it  an  easy  thing  to  do  good,  ponder  the 
lesson  taught  by  Mr.  Cooper's  experience  in  building  the  Institute. 
The  mere  saving  and  donating  the  money  for  the  purpose  was  but  a 
fraction  of  the  work  performed.  Great  difficulties  had  to  be  over- 
come in  designing  so  unique  a  building.  Mr.  Cooper  was  deter- 
mined that  it  should  be  fire-proof,  consequently  a  separate  foundery 
had  to  be  erected  to  forge  the  iron  used  in  the  construction  ;  when 
this  was  done,  the  estimated  outlay  fell  short  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  of  the  actual  cost.  Countless  other  obstacles  had  to  be 
overcome,  and  finally  the  Institute  was  completed,  at  an  immense 
cost  over  its  estimated  expense.  In  fact,  it  took  all  Mr.  Cooper's 
money  to  finish  it,  and  he  was  comparatively  a  poor  man  when  all 
the  bills  were  paid  ;  but,  as  if  to  reward  his  sacrifices,  his  business 
has  since  improved,  until  he  is  now  richer  than  ever. 

"What  greater  triumph  could  be  desired,  than  to  have  ac- 
complished such  a  work  as  the  Institute  as  it  now  stands,  with  its 
classes  for  young  men  and  women,  its  scientific,  literary,  art,  and 
music  schools,  reading-room,  and  other  features,  and  what  greater 
honor  could  be  desired  than  to  go  down  to  posterity  as  its  found- 
er ?  Let  the  voices  of  those  who  have  received  its  benefits  be  a 
paean  to  the  memory  of  its  originator,  and  let  his  name  share  the 
glory  of  their  deeds  ! 

"  But  nothing  is  complete  in  life  without  its  disagreeable  side, 
and  noble  as  have  been  Mr.  Cooper's  motives,  and  open  as  were  his 
plans  in  erecting  this  institution,  not  a  few  persons  have  avowed 
their  belief  that  it  was  all  done  with  self-interested  views. 

"  After  this,  who  can  expect  gratitude  from  the  world  ? 

"  Mr.  Cooper's  personal  appearance  is  familiar  to  every  New- 
Yorker.  He  is  of  middle  stature,  with  silver  locks  and  beard,  and 
a  venerable  and  benevolent  face.  He  is  best  known  by  his  old 
white  hat,  which,  like  Horace  Greeley's,  is  characteristic  of  the 
man.  He  commonly  drives  about  in  an  old-fashioned  one-horse 
chaise,  drawn  by  a  steady  mare,  the  whole  turn-out  looking  as  if 


130         HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

it  belonged  to  some  well-to-do  farmer  or  retired  tradesman,  rather 
than  a  million  n  aire. 

"  The  key  to  Mr.  Cooper's  life  and  deeds  is  to  be  found  in 
those  few  words  which  we  have  heard  from  his  own  lips  :  '  I  re- 
solved that  I  would  repay  every  benefit  which  I  had  received  by 
conferring  an  equal  benefit  on  some  of  my  fellow-men.' 

"  His  success  in  business  has  been  greatly  due  to  a  faculty  for 
taking  up  enterprises  which  had  been  abandoned  by  other  people, 
and  by  dint  of  perseverance  and  hard  work  making  them  succeed. 
In  the  main,  however,  he  has  gained  his  ends  by  attending  to  his 
affairs  in  person,  and  has  always  strictly  followed  Dr.  Franklin's 
principle — '  The  eye  of  the  master  is  worth  all  of  his  servants.' 
Even  at  his  present  advanced  age  he  does  not  neglect  this  rule, 
but  keeps  a  strict  eye  upon  the  affairs  of  the  Cooper  Union." 

We  cannot  leave  Mr.  Cooper,  even  now,  without  de- 
voting a  few  pages  of  our  work  to  record  his  last  act 
of  generosity,  benevolence,  and  philanthropy,  toward 
the  meritorious  poor  and  industrious  classes  of  our  com- 
munity, in  his  munificent  bequest  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  to  be  used  in  the  establishment 
and  endowment  of  a  library,  where  the  hard-working 
and  deserving  classes,  who  desire  repose  and  relaxation 
after  the  toils  of  the  clay,  can  seek  recreation  and  infor- 
mation from  the  great  store  of  useful  books  he  has 
placed  within  their  reach,  where  all  may  participate 
who  feel  a  desire  of  so  doing,  and  know  that  they  are 
welcome. 

On  the  day  of  this  munificent  bequest,  Mr.  Cooper 
reached  his  eightieth  birthday,  February  12,  1871.  On 
that  occasion  a  most  interesting  interview  took  place 
between  the  graduating  class  of  the  Institute  and  their 
venerable  benefactor  and  friend.  Being  assembled  in 
the  large  hall  of  the  Institute,  the  class,  in  an  interest- 
ing address,  expressed  their  heart-felt  gratitude  to  the 
venerable  donor  for  the  valuable  gift  he  had  that  day 
bestowed  upon  them — a  gift  which  they  hoped  and 


PETER   COOPER.  131 

trusted  would,  from  the  results  for  many  years  to  come, 
bring  to  their  minds  the  eightieth  anniversary  of  his 
birth,  a  period  of  life  prolonged,  by  the  providence  of 
Almighty  God,  beyond  the  term  usually  allotted  to  a 
ripe  old  age,  yet  retaining  all  that '  vigor  of  body, 
strength  of  mind,  and  warmth  of  heart,  which  promise 
many  years  of  usefulness  and  honor. 

To  their  address  Mr.  Cooper  replied  in  a  most  feel- 
ing and  interesting  manner,  and  we  only  regret  now 
that  our  limited  space  will  not  allow  us  to  embody  in 
our  present  work  his  appropriate  remarks  upon  this 
deeply  interesting  occasion,  as  we  feel  assured  that 
they  would  prove  most  useful  and  instructive  to  many 
of  our  readers,  who,  no  doubt,  may  be  found  among 
the  mechanics  and  working-classes  of  the  community. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

PRIZE    FOR    BEST    LOCOMOTIVE. 

We  will  now  resume  our  history  of  the  early  loco- 
motives in  America,  believing  that  our  readers  will  par- 
don our  digression. 

As  it  may  be  interesting  to  railroad  engineers  and 
machinists,  we  insert  here  the  conditions  required  and 
the  premium  offered  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road Company  for  the  best  locomotive  of  American 
manufacture,  which  were  referred  to  in  Mr.  Latrobe's 
letter  to  the  author : 

"Office  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company, 

"January  4,  1831. 
"  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  being  desirous 
of  obtaining  a  supply  of  locomotive-engines  of  American  manufac- 


132         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

ture,  adapted  to  their  road,  the  president  and  directors  hereby 
give  public  notice  that  they  will  pay  the  sum  of  four  thousand 
dollars  for  the  most  approved  engine  which  shall  be  delivered  for 
trial  upon  the  road,  on  or  before  the  1st  of  June,  1831 ;  and  they 
will  also  pay  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  for  the  engine 
which  shall  be  adjudged  the  next  best,  and  be  delivered  as  afore- 
said, subject  to  the  following  conditions,  to  wit : 

"  First.  The  engine  must  burn  coke  or  coal,  and  must  consume 
its  own  smoke. 

"  Second.  The  engine,  when  in  operation,  must  not  exceed 
three  and  one-half  tons'  weight,  and  must,  on  a  level  road,  be  ca- 
pable of  drawing,  day  by  day,  fifteen  tons,  inclusive  of  the  weight 
of  the  wagons,  fifteen  miles  per  hour.  The  company  to  furnish 
wagons  of  Winans's  construction,  the  friction  of  which  will  not 
exceed  five  pounds  to  the  ton. 

"  Third.  In  deciding  on  the  relative  advantages  of  the  several 
engines,  the  company  will  take  into  consideration  their  respective 
weights,  power,  and  durability,  and,  all  other  things  being  equal, 
will  adjudge  a  preference  to  the  engine  weighing  the  least. 

"  Fourth.  The  flanges  are  to  run  on  the  inside  of  the  rails. 
The  form  of  the  cone  and  flanges,  and  the  tread  of  the  wheels, 
must  be  such  as  are  now  in  use  on  the  road.  If  the  working- 
parts  are  so  connected  as  to  work  with  the  adhesion  of  all  the  four 
wheels,  then  all  the  wheels  shall  be  of  equal  diameter,  not  to  ex- 
ceed three  feet ;  but  if  the  connection  be  such  as  to  work  with  the 
adhesion  of  two  wheels  only,  then  those  two  wheels  may  have  a 
diameter  not  exceeding  four  feet,  and  the  other  two  wheels  shall 
be  two  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter,  and  shall  work  with  Winans's 
friction- wheels,  which  last  will  be  furnished  upon  application  to 
the  company.  The  flanges  to  be  four  feet  seven  and  a  half  inches 
apart,  from  outside  to  outside.  The  wheels  to  be  coupled  four 
feet  from  centre  to  centre,  in  order  to  suit  curves  of  short  radius. 

"Fifth.  The  pressure  of  steam  not  to  exceed  one  hundred 
pounds  to  the  square  inch,  and,  as  a  less  pressure  will  be  preferred, 
the  company,  in  deciding  on  the  advantages  of  the  several  engines, 
will  take  into  consideration  their  relative  degrees  of  pressure. 
The  company  will  be  at  liberty  to  put  the  boiler,  fire-tube,  cylinder, 
etc.,  to  the  test  of  a  pressure  of  water  not  exceeding  three  times 
the  pressure  of  the  steam  intended  to  be  worked,  without  being 
answerable  for  any  damage  the  machine  may  receive  in  conse- 
quence of  such  test. 


PRIZE  FOR  BEST   LOCOMOTIVE.  133 

"  Sixth.  There  must  be  two  safety-valves,  one  of  which  must 
he  completely  out  of  the  reach  of  the  engine-man,  and  neither  of 
which  must  be  fastened  down  while  the  engine  is  working. 

"  Seventh.  The  engine  and  boiler  must  be  supported  on  springs 
and  rest  on  four  wheels,  and  the  height  from  the  ground  to  the  top 
of  the  chimney  must  not  exceed  twelve  feet. 

"Eighth.  There  must  be  a  mercurial  gauge  affixed  to  the 
machine,  with  an  index-rod,  showing  the  steam-pressure  above 
fifty  pounds  per  square  inch,  and  constructed  to  blow  out  at  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pounds. 

"  Ninth.  The  engines  which  may  appear  to  offer  the  greatest 
advantages  will  be  subjected  to  the  performance  of  thirty  days' 
regular  work  on  the  road ;  at  the  end  of  which  time,  if  they  shall 
have  proved  durable,  and  continue  to  be  capable  of  performing 
agreeably  to  their  first  exhibition,  as  aforesaid,  they  will  be 
received  and  paid  for  as  here  stipulated. 

"  P.  E.  Thomas,  President. 

"  N".  B. — The  railroad  company  will  provide  and  will  furnish  a 
tender  and  a  supply  of  water  and  fuel  for  trial.  Persons  desirous 
of  examining  the  road,  or  of  obtaining  more  minute  information, 
are  invited  to  address  themselves  to  the  president  of  the  company. 
The  least  radius  of  curvature  of  the  road  is  four  hundred  feet. 
Competitors  who  arrive  with  their  engines  before  the  1st  of  June, 
will  be  allowed  to  make  experiments  on  the  road  previous  to  that 
day. 

"  The  editors  of  the  National  Gazette,  Philadelphia,  Commer- 
cial Advertiser,  New  York,  and  Pittsburg  Statesman,  will  copy 
the  above  once  a  week,  for  four  weeks,  and  forward  their  bills  to 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company." 

As  Mr.  Latrobe  says  in  his  letter  before  quoted, 
Phineas  Davis's  engine,  built  at  York,  Pennsylvania, 
was  the  only  one  which  came  up  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  company.  After  a  trial,  and  several  modi- 
fications and  changes,  each  as  it  suggested  itself,  late  in 
the  summer  of  1831,  the  Davis  (or  rather  "Davis  and 
Gartners  ")  engine  was  found  capable  of  pulling  on  the 
part  of  the  road  between  Baltimore  and  Ellicott's  Mills, 


134         HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  rN  AMERICA. 

thirteen  miles,  four  loaded  cars  of  the  gross  weight  of 
fourteen  tons,  in  about  one  hour. 

This  engine  was  mounted  on  wheels  like  those  of 
the  ordinary  cars,  thirty  inches  in  diameter,  and  its 
velocity  was  effected  by  means  of  gearing  with  a  spur- 
wheel  and  pinion  on  one  of  the  axles  of  the  road- 
wheels. 

In  the  construction  of  the  road  from  Baltimore  to 
the  Point  of  Rocks,  every  mode  hitherto  suggested  by 
science  or  experience  had  been  tested,  and  thus  the  work 
must  be  regarded  as  having  the  honor  of  solving  most 
of  the  problems  which  presented  themselves  in  this 
early  period  of  railroads  in  this  country.  The  granite, 
and  the  iron  rail ;  the  wood  and  iron,  on  stone  blocks ; 
the  wood  and  iron  on  wooden  sleepers,  supported  by 
broken  stone;  the  same  supported  by  longitudinal 
ground-sills  in  place  of  broken  stones ;  the  log-rail, 
formed  of  trunks  of  trees,  worked  to  a  surface  on  one 
side  to  receive  the  iron,  and  supported  by  wooden 
sleepers;  and  the  wrought-iron  rails  of  the  English 
mode — had  all  been  laid  down,  and  as  early  as  1832 
formed  different  portions  of  the  work.  Great  credit  is 
therefore  due  to  the  engineers  and  workmen  of  this 
road,  for  the  patience  displayed  in  carrying  out  their 
work,  at  that  time  the  longest  in  the  world ;  nothing  in 
England  could  approach  it  in  the  magnitude  and  extent 
of  its  plan.  These  men  labored  long,  at  great  cost,  and 
with  a  diligence  which  is  worthy  of  all  praise.  Their 
road  and  workshops  have  been  a  lecture-room  to  thou- 
sands who  are  now  practising  and  improving  upon  their 
hard-earned  experience. 


FIRST  AMERICAN   LOCOMOTIVE.  135 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

FIEST     AMEEICAN     LOCOMOTIVE. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  in  Maryland, 
through  the  progress  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road, a  similar  enterprise,  nearly  equal  in  its  magnitude, 
and  fully  so  in  importance,  had  been  started  in  another 
section  of  the  country.  The  practicability  of  establish- 
ing a  railroad  communication  between  the  city  of 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  Hamburg,  on  the  west- 
ern border  of  the  State,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-six  miles,  must  have  been  talked  of,  and  even 
some  primary  steps  taken  for  its  consummation,  as  early 
as  1827.  We  have  seen,  in  an  old  file  of  the  Charles- 
ton Courier,  dated  December,  1827,  the  following  copy 
of  a  letter  from  Columbia,  the  capital  of  the  State,  where 
the  Legislature  was  in  session  at  the  time.     It  says : 

"The  committee  to  whom  the  Charleston  memorial  was  re- 
ferred is  divided  in  opinion  on  the  propriety  of  an  appropriation 
for  the  survey  of  the  country  between  Charleston  and  Hamburg. 
Some  of  the  committee  think  that  if  the  railroad  is  to  be  the  work 
of  a  company,  who  is  to  receive  all  the  profits,  the  whole  expense 
should  be  borne  by  the  company.  And  again,  that  if  a  survey  be 
effected  by  the  State,  it  would  not  be  done  so  satisfactorily  to  the 
community  as  it  probably  would  be  if  managed  by  individuals 
immediately  interested." 

However,  a  bill,  granting  a  charter  for  the  South 
Carolina  Railroad,  was  passed  December  19,  1827. 
Fifteen  days  after,  on  January  4,  1828,  a  meeting  of 
the  citizens  was  called,  and  a  committee  appointed  to 
report  on  that  charter  at  the  next  meeting.     The  second 


136         HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

meeting  was  called  in  the  Charleston  Courier,  January 
7,  1828,  as  follows: 

"  A  meeting  of  the  citizens  is  requested  at  the  City  Hall,  this 
day,  at  1  o'clock,  to  take  into  consideration  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  subject  of  the  railroad  from  this  city  to  Hamburg. 
At  a  previous  meeting  on  January  4th,  the  sub-committee  had 
reported  unfavorably.  This  committee  pointed  out  many  parts 
of  the  General  Act  of  the  Legislature  for  incorporating  companies 
for  constructing  turnpike-roads,  bridges,  and  ferries,  that  were 
inapplicable  to  a  railroad  company,  as  the  bill  now  before  the 
Legislature." 

On  the  reassembling  of  the  Legislature,  January  21, 
1828,  after  the  usual  Christmas  recess,  Mr.  Black  pre- 
sented a  memorial  praying  amendments  to  the  act  of 
the  last  session,  and  a  new  bill  was  reported  on  the  22d. 

January  29,  1828,  the  present  charter  of  the  South 
Carolina  Railroad  was  granted.  A  motion  had  been 
made  to  strike  out  the  provision  exempting  the  property 
of  the  road  from  taxation.  The  yeas  and  nays  were 
taken — yeas  13,  nays  22 — and  the  bill  passed. 

The  stockholders  organized  as  a  company  on  the 
12th  of  May,  1828,  being  the  second  railroad  company 
formed  in  the  United  States  for  commercial  purposes 
and  the  transportation  of  passengers  and  freight. 

At  one  of  the  earliest  meetings  of  the  projectors, 
Horatio  Allen,  Esq.  (before  mentioned),  well  known  as 
an  experienced  engineer,  had  been  invited  by  them 
to  fill  the  position  of  chief  engineer  of  the  contemplated 
work.  In  compliance  with  their  request,  Mr.  Allen  made 
a  report  at  the  first  meeting,  five  days  after  their  organ- 
ization, recommending  the  kind  of  road  to  be  con- 
structed and  the  kind  of  power  best  calculated  to  be 
used  upon  the  road.  Having  visited  England  to  ex- 
amine the  progress  so  far  made  in  railroads  and  locomo- 


FIRST   AMERICAN   LOCOMOTIVE.  137 

tive  power,  and  having  been  requested,  while  in  Eng- 
land, by  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  chief  engineer  of  the  Dela- 
ware and  Hudson  Railroad,  to  contract  for  the  iron  for 
that  road,  and  procure  for  it  three  first-class  locomotives, 
the  Charleston  Railroad  directors  had  confidence  in  his 
skill  and  judgment.  In  his  report  at  this  first  meeting, 
Mr.  Allen  used  all  the  arguments  at  his  command  to 
recommend  the  construction  of  the  road  for  locomotive- 
power,  and  with  such  success  that  at  the  meeting  on 
January  14,  1830,  when  the  report  was  acted  upon,  the 
Hon.  Thomas  Bennett  offered  a  resolution  to  the  effect 
that  the  locomotive  alone  should  be  used  upon  the  road, 
and  in  selecting  that  power  for  its  application  to  rail- 
roads, the  maturity  of  which  will  be  reached  within 
the  time  of  constructing  the  road,  would  render 
the  application  of  animal  power  a  great  abuse  of  the 
gifts  of  genius  and  science.  The  resolution  was  unani- 
mously carried. 

At  the  celebration  in  Dunkirk,  New  York,  in  1852, 
in  commemoration  of  the  completion  of  the  New  York 
and  Erie  Railway,  Mr.  Allen,  alluding  to  this  subject 
in  his  address,  makes  use  of  the  following  language : 

"  At  the  same  period,  that  is,  prior  to  the  great  locomotive 
trial  in  England,  and  when  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
Company  were  so  strongly  impressed  in  favor  of  horse-power, 
it  became  necessary  for  me,  as  engineer  of  the  South  Carolina 
Railroad  Company,  to  decide  for  what  power  that  road  should 
he  built.  The  road  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles 
long.  From  the  character  of  the  country,  the  plan  of  the 
road  would  be  naturally  influenced  by  the  kind  of  power 
adopted.  Stationary  power  was  out  of  the  question,  but  the 
opinion  was  held,  by  many  of  great  intelligence,  that  horse-power 
should  at  least  be  commenced  with.  In  the  report  I  made  on  this 
important  question,  I  submitted  such  comparative  estimate  of  the 
results  of  horse-power  and  locomotive-power  as  the  information 
then  to  be  had  appeared  to  me  to  sustain.     That  estimate  was  in 


138         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

favor  of  locomotive-power,  but  I  rested  the  decision  of  the  question 
on  the  position  that,  what  the  performance  of  a  horse  was  and 
would  be,  every  one  knew ;  but  the  man  was  not  living  who  would 
undertake  to  say  what  the  locomotive  was  yet  to  do ;  and  I  may 
add  that,  after  more  than  thirty  years  have  elapsed,  during  every 
one  of  which  the  soundness  of  this  position  has  gained  new  grounds 
to  sustain  it,  he  would  be  a  bold  man  who  would  say  that  we  had 
attained  the  limit  in  the  performance,  and  esj)ecially  in  the  econo- 
my of  performance,  of  this  great  mechanical  blessing  to  mankind. 
In  the  recommendation  of  this  report  in  favor  of  locomotive-power 
the  Board  of  the  South  Carolina  Railroad  Company  unanimously 
concurred,  and,  as  this  decision  was  the  first  on  any  railway  built 
for  general  freight  and  passenger  business  in  this  country  or  in 
England,  it  has  been  referred  to  as  one  of  the  interesting  facts  in 
the  early  history  of  railroads." 

The  preparations  for  the  work  were  at  once  com- 
menced, and  the  road  was  begun  in  1829.  Six  miles 
were  completed  in  that  year. 

Like  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  a  number  of 
experiments  were  tried  with  different  powers. 

The  company  offered  a  premium  of  $500  for  the 
best  locomotive  by  horse-power.  This  premium  was 
awarded  to  Mr.  C.  E.  Detmold,  who  invented  one 
worked  on  an  endless-chain  platform.  "When  this 
horse-power  locomotive  was  completed  and  tested  upon 
the  road,  it  carried  twelve  passengers "  at  the  rate  of 
twelve  miles  an  hour. 

A  sailing-car,  or  a  car  propelled  by  the  wind,  was 
also  tested  upon  the  road  in  1829-30.  A  description 
of  one  of  the  trips  upon  this  machine  we  copy  from  the 
Charleston  Courier,  March  20,  1830 : 

"  Sailing  on  Land. — A  sail  was  set  on  a  car  on  our  railroad 
yesterday  afternoon,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  spec- 
tators. Fifteen  gentlemen  got  on  board  and  flew  off  at  the  rate 
of  twelve  to  fourteen  miles  an  hour.  Thirteen  persons  and  three 
tons  of  iron  were  carried  about  ten  miles  an  hour.    The  preparations 


HORSE-POWER   LOCOMOTIVE. 


A 


..,;yaM 


Horse-power  locomotive  invented  by  C.  E.  Detmold,  the  succes?ful 
competitor  for  the  prize  of  $500  offered  by  the  South  Carolina  Railroad, 
as  it  appeared  on  this  road  in  1829-30. 


FIRST  AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVE.  139 

for  sailing  were  very  hastily  got  up,  and  of  course  were  not  of  the 
best  kind ;  but  owing  to  this  circumstance  the  experiment  afforded 
high  sport.  The  wind  blew  very  fresh  from  about  northeast, 
which,  as  a  sailor  would  say,  was  '  abeam,'  and  would  drive  the 
car  either  way  with  equal  speed.  When  going  at  the  rate  of  about 
twelve  miles  an  hour  and  loaded  with  fifteen  passengers,  the  mast 
went  by  the  board,  with  the  sail  and  rigging  attached,  carrying 
with  them  several  of  the  crew.  The  wreck  was  descried  by  several 
friendly  shipmasters,  who  kindly  rendered  assistance  in  rigging  a 
jury-mast,  and  the  car  was  again  soon  put  under  way.  During 
the  afternoon  the  wind  changed  so  as  to  bring  it  nearly  ahead 
when  going  in  one  direction ;  but  this  did  not  stop  the  sport,  as  it 
was  ascertained  that  the  car  would  sail  within  four  points  of  the 
wind.  We  understand  it  is  intended  by  some  of  our  seamen  to 
rig  a  car  properly,  and  shortly  to  exhibit  their  skill  in  managing  a 
vessel  on  land." 

The  president  of  the  road,  Mr.  Tupper,  in  one  of 
his  reports  to  the  board,  informs  them  that  on  March  1, 
1830,  the  committee  to  whom  the  matter  was  referred 
had  reported  that  they  had  accepted  the  offer  of 
Mr.  E.  L.  Miller,  of  Charleston,  to  construct  a  loco- 
motive at  the  West  Point  Foundery,  in  New  York,  and 
that  it  should  perform  at  the  rate  of  ten  miles  per  hour, 
instead  of  eight,  as  first  proposed,  and  carry  three  times 
her  weight,  which  was  required  the  year  before,  on  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  Hailroad,  at  the  trial  for  the 
premium  of  £500. 

Mr.  Miller  immediately  set  about  the  construction 
of  his  locomotive.  His  plans  and  specifications  were 
drawn  out  by  the  same  Mr.  Detmold,who  had  invented 
the  horse-power  locomotive  on  the  Charleston  road,  and 
who  was  then  living  in  New  York. 

Meantime  the  work  on  the  road  was  pushed  for- 
ward, and  another  mile  completed,  making  seven  miles 
ready  for  use.,  and  many  more  under  contract  and  fast 
approaching  completion. 


140        HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

FURTHER    TRIALS. 

Mr.  David  Matthew,  who  was  foreman  of  the 
hands  fitting  up  machinery  in  the  West  Point  Foundery, 
and  had  charge  of  those  fitting  up  the  Stourbridge 
Lion,  when  she  came  from  England,  also  had  charge  of 
the  men  fitting  up  the  "  Best  Friend,"  the  first  loco- 
motive ever  built  in  America,  for  actual  service  on  a 
railroad.  In  the  same  letter,  which  he  addressed  to  the 
author  in  1859,  after  describing  the  Stourbridge  Lion, 
he  thus  continues : 

"  The  first  American-built  locomotive  for  actual  service  upon  a 
railroad  was  called  the  '  Best  Friend  of  Charleston.'  I  had  charge 
of  the  hands  fitting  up  this  engine  ;  this  was  in  1830,  shortly  after 
the  Stourbridge  Lion  had  been  tried  in  our  yard,  and  some  modi- 
fications made  to  it.  The  locomotive  '  Best  Friend  of  Charleston  ' 
was  contracted  for  by  Mr.  E.  L.  Miller,  of  Charleston.  The  Best 
Friend  was  a  four-wheel  engine,  all  four  wheels  drivers.  Two  in- 
clined cylinders  at  an  angle,  working  down  on  a  double  crank, 
inside  of  the  frame,  with  the  wheels  outside  of  the  frame,  each 
wheel  connecting  together  outside,  with  outside  rods.  The  wheels 
were  iron  hub,  wooden  spokes  and  felloes,  with  iron  tire,  and  iron 
web  and  pins  in  the  wheels  to  connect  the  outside  rods   to. 

"  The  boiler  was  a  vertical  one,  in  form  of  an  old-fashioned 
porter-bottle,  the  furnace  at  the  bottom  surrounded  with  water, 
and  all  filled  inside  full  of  what  we  called  teats,  running  out  from 
the  sides  and  top,  with  alternate  stays  to  support  the  crown  of  the 
furnace ;  the  smoke  and  gas  passing  out  through  the  sides  at 
several  points,  into  an  outside  jacket ;  which  had  the  chimney  on 
it.  The  boiler  sat  on  a  frame  wpon  four  wheels,  with  the  connect- 
ing-rods running  by  it  to  come  into  the  crank-shaft.  The  cylin- 
ders were  about  six  inches  in  the  bore,  and  sixteen  inches' 
stroke.  Wheels  about  four  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter.  The 
whole   machine   weighed   about   four   and   a   half  tons.      It   was 


FURTHER  TRIALS.  141 

shipped  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  for  the  Charleston  and 
Hamburg  Railroad,  in  the  fall  of  1830,  and  was  put  upon  that 
road  during  the  winter. 

"  It  was  the  first  locomotive  built  in  America,  was  exhibited 
at  our  shop  under  steam  for  some  time,  and  visited  by  many. 
She  was  shipped  to  Charleston  on  board  of  the  ship  Niagara,  in 
October,  1830." 

Prof.  Samuel  Henry  Dickson,  of  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  in  a  recent  letter  to 
the  author,  describes  his  visit  to  the  West  Point  Foun- 
dery-works  in  New  York,  in  1830.  At  this  time  the 
"  Best  Friend  of  Charleston,"  the  first  locomotive  ever 
built  in  America,  for  actual  service  upon  a  railroad,  was 
just  completed,  and  about  to  be  shipped  to  Charleston. 
Prof.  Dickson  writes  as  follows : 

"Philadelphia,  May  30,  1871. 

"Wm.  H.  Brown,  Esq.— 

"  Dear  Sir  :  In  reply  to  your  courteous  letter  of  inquiry,  just 
received,  I  regret  that  I  can  give  you  nothing  better  than  general 
though  very  definite  reminiscences.  Dates,  circumstantial  details, 
and  printed  statements,  such  as  would  best  suit  your  purpose,  have 
faded  from  my  mind,  and  all  written  memoranda  of  that  distant 
time  have  perished  amid  the  general  ruin  at  the  South. 

"  But  I  recollect  that,  being  on  a  tour  among  my  Northern 
friends  in  the  summer  of  1830,  I  was  written  to  on  the  part  of 
the  board  of  directors  of  the  Charleston  and  Hamburg  Railroad 
(the  South  Carolina  Railroad),  and  requested,  as  one  of  that  body, 
to  visit  the  foundery  of  Mr.  Gouverneur  Kemble,  to  look  at  a  loco- 
motive-engine which  he  was  building  for  our  road,  and  report  as  to 
its  general  appearance,  and  the  prospect  of  its  completion  by  the 
appointed  time. 

"  Our  contract  had  been  made  with  Mr.  E.  L.  Miller,  who  en- 
gaged with  Mr.  Kemble  to  build  the  machine.  Mr.  Miller  accom- 
panied me  to  the  workshop,  where  I  saw  with  intense  interest  and 
great  satisfaction,  not  unmixed  with  some  pride  too,  the  first  loco- 
motive constructed  in  this  country.  Never  having  seen  a  loco- 
motive, and  being  neither  engineer  nor  mechanic,  I  could  not  of 
course  presume  to  pronounce  upon  its  merits,  and  was  as  curious 
10 


142         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

and  anxious  about  the  result  of  our  experiment  as  any  one  inter- 
ested. But  I  had  read  and  heard  a  good  deal  on  the  subject,  and 
did  not  hesitate  to  recommend  the  prompt  acceptance  of  the 
engine  from  the  contractor,  and  to  congratulate  my  fellow-direc- 
tors upon  its  promise  of  decided  utility  and  advantage  to  our  great 
enterprise. 

"  Mr.  Miller  named  it,  I  think,  '  The  Best  Friend,'  and  it  was 
forwarded  to  Charleston  late  that  fall  or  early  in  the  winter,  when 
it  was  at  once  put  upon  the  road.  It  did  not  disappoint  our  hopes, 
but  proved  in  capacity  and  serviceable  qualities  all  that  we  had 
expected.  It  was  run  long  and  successfully,  under  the  charge  of 
Mr.  Darrell,  one  of  our  young  native  machinists.  I  am  under  the 
impression  that  it  was  one  day  blown  up  through  the  carelessness 
of  a  negro  fireman,  that  it  was  soon  repaired  and  replaced  upon 
the  road.  Of  its  ultimate  fate  I  am  not  certain,  but  believe  that, 
after  having  attained  a  ripe  old  age,  in  process  of  time  it  finally 
wore  out,  and  was  thrown  aside,  the  common  destiny  of  man  and 
all  his  works. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  the  gratifying  progress  of  your  book, 
and  know  that  its  publication  will  not  long  be  delayed.  Wishing 
you  the  large  and  profitable  success,  as  an  author,  which  your 
energy  and  perseverance  so  richly  deserve,  and  all  other  forms  of 
happiness  and  prosperity, 

"  I  remain,  very  truly, 

"  Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

"Samuel  Henkt  Dickson." 

The  author  examined  the  order-book  recently  at 
the  West  Point  Company's  Foundery,  at  Cold  Spring, 
Putnam  County,  on  the  Hudson  River,  for  some  reminis- 
cences of  the  old  "  Best  Friend,"  but  all  he  could  find 
(the  old  books  having  been  lost  or  mislaid)  was  the 
following  order  from  the  New- York  office,  dated  April 
6,  1830,  as  follows:  "Two  cylinders,  see  pattern  loco- 
motive-engine, nozzles  for  exhaust  cast  right  and  left." 

The  above  shows  that  the  engine  was  commenced, 
as  Mr.  Matthew  states,  in  the  spring  of  1830. 

The  following  paragraph  appeared  in  the  diaries- 
ton  Courier,  October  23,  1830 : 


FURTHER  TRIALS.  143 

"  Locomotive  Steam-Engine. — "  We  understand  that  the 
steam-engine  intended  for  our  road  is  on  board  the  ship  Niagara, 
which  arrived  in  the  offing  last  night." 

As  no  machinist  came  out  with  the  locomotive,  the 
superintendent  of  the  railroad  applied  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Dotterer,  of  the  firm  of  Dotterer  <fe  Eason,  machinists 
and  engineers,  to  pnt  the  machine  together  and  prepare 
her  for  the  road.  These  gentlemen  appointed  Mr. 
Julius  D.  Petsch,  who  was  foreman  in  their  workshops, 
to  discharge  this  duty.  Mr.  Petsch,  at  their  request, 
undertook  the  task,  and  selected  as  an  assistant  Mr. 
Nicholas  "W".  Darrell,  a  young  man  just  out  of  his  time 
in  their  workshops.  These  gentlemen  (Mr.  Petsch  and 
his  assistant  Mr.  Darrell)  immediately  set  about  fitting 
up  the  "  Best  Friend  "  for  the  road,  and  so  energetically . 
did  they  work  that  in  a  few  days  all  was  ready.  Before 
the  1st  of  Nov.,  1830,  several  experimental  trials,  at 
short  distances,  were  made  to  see  that  all  was  right; 
and  on  the  2d  of  November,  with  Mr.  Darrell  in  charge, 
Mr.  Miller,  accompanied  by  several  gentlemen  in  a  car, 
made  a  trial-trip. 

The  result  of  this  trial-trip  we  learn  from  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  the  chief  engineer,  Horatio  Allen,  in  the 
Charleston  Courier,  November  3,  1830  : 

"  The  public  will  regret  to  learn  that  an  accident  has  happened 
to  a  pair  of  the  wheels  of  the  locomotive-engine  lately  put  upon 
the  railroad.  To  prevent  any  misunderstanding  or  exaggeration, 
it  is  proper  to  communicate  the  facts.  The  change  of  direction 
which  takes  place  when  a  carriage  enters  a  curved  part  of  a  road 
is  effected  by  the  action  of  the  flange  which  is  attached  to  the  rim 
against  the  iron  rail.  A  lateral  strain  is  then  brought  to  act  on 
the  spokes  of  the  wheel,  and  in  this  present  instance  they  have 
proved  too  weak  to  resist  it,  and  from  this  circumstance  the  acci- 
dent has  originated.  The  spokes  were  discovered  to  spring,  and 
fears  were  entertained  by  Mr.  Miller,  shortly  after  he  commenced 


144         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

running  his  engine.  Yesterday  he  experimented  with  it  for  this 
especial  purpose,  and  after  having  proceeded  to  the  extremity  of 
the  road,  and  almost  completed  his  return,  during  which  time  the 
operation  of  the  engine  was  in  the  highest  degree  satisfactory,  the 
forward  wheel  was  sprung  inward,  so  much  so  as  to  leave  the  rail 
entirely ;  and  the  engine,  after  proceeding  about  twenty  feet,  was 
stopped  with  both  the  front  wheels  off  the  rail,  and  some  of  the 
spokes  much  injured. 

"It  is  as  singular  as  satisfactory  that  no  other  part  of  the 
frame,  machinery,  or  boiler,  exhibited  the  least  derangement,  afford- 
ing the  most  decisive  proof  of  the  correctness  of  the  proportions 
and  the  excellence  of  the  work.  It  is  but  justice  to  state  that  the 
wheels  were  made  after  the  English  wheels,  the  most  approved 
until  the  construction  of  the  wrought-iron  ones.  A  short  time  will 
be  required  to  replace  the  wheels,  when  the  engine  will  again  be 
put  in  motion. 

"No  personal  injury  happened  to  any  of  the  individuals,  either 
on  the  passenger-car  or  engine. 

"  Horatio  Allen." 

We  next  hear  of  the  "  Best  Friend "  through  the 
report  of  President  Tapper  to  the  board  of  directors. 
After  speaking  of  Mr.  Miller's  contract  to  furnish  a 
locomotive,  etc.,  he  continues : 

"On  the  14th  and  15th  of  December,  1830,  the  engine  was 
tried,  and  proved  her  force  and  efficiency  to  be  double  that  con- 
tracted for ;  running  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  to  twenty-one  miles  an 
hour,  with  forty  to  fifty  passengers  in  some  four  or  five  cars,  and, 
without  the  cars,  thirty  to  thirty-five  miles  per  hour." 

"  Jockey  of  York,"  an  amnsing  sporting  writer,  gives 
an  account  of  a  trip  on  Christmas-day,  in  his  peculiar 
style,  in  the  Charleston  Courier,  December  29,  1830 : 

"  Sporting  Intelligence. — Our  distant  friends  no  doubt  are 
desirous  to  know  the  result  of  our  Christmas  sports.  The  celebra- 
tion season  was  altogether  novel  and  interesting.  The  iron  horse 
'  Best  Friend '  was  entered  for  the  purse,  about  a  fortnight  since, 
to  '  run  against  time.'     The  '  heat '  was,  that  he  should  run  ten 


FURTHER  TRIALS.  145 

miles  an  hour,  carrying  three  times  his  own  weight.  He  was 
trained  every  day  preparatory  to  the  great  trial  of  speed.  Doubts 
were  at  first  entertained  as  to  'his  wind,'  when  everybody  ac- 
knowledged he  had  sufficient  'bottom.'  The  'Best  Friend'  is 
out  of  a  horse  bred  by  Messrs.  Watt  &  Bolton,  and  of  the 
same  breed  as  the  Novelty  and  Rocket,  which  contended  for  the 
purse  of  £500,  at  the  late  Liverpool  and  Manchester  races.  By  - 
crossing  the  breed  with  a  Columbian  sire,  he  has  'eclipsed'  his 
progenitors  upon  the  European,  and  stands  unrivalled  upon  the 
American  turf.  The  knowing  ones  have  already  hinted  that  his 
dam  was  '  half  salamander,  half  alligator '  as  he  eats  fire,  breathes 
steam,  and  feeds  upon  light-wood.  All  doubts,  however,  of  his 
being  'short-winded'  have  been  dissipated,  and  it  is  now  confi- 
dently believed  that  he  can  run  one  hundred  miles  without  '  flag- 
ging,' for,  like  Pat,  after  the  foot-race  at  Donnybrook  Fair,  when 
being  questioned  if  he  was  '  out  of  breath,'  he  replied,  '  No,  faith, 
I'm  only  likely  to  be  troubled  with  too  much  of  it.'  But,  Mr. 
Editor,  allegory  apart,  I  am  the  '  odd  fellow '  of  the  one  hundred 
and  forty-one  persons  who  were  drawn  or  rather  whisked  through 
the  air  by  the  iron  horse  or  locomotive-engine,  on  Christmas- 
day— 

'  Which  sped  through  the  air  like  a  meteor  swift, 
While  the  crowds  from  around  it  did  fearfully  drift 
To  the  right  and  the  left,  as  it  passed.' 

\ 

"  We  flew  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  at  the  varied  speed  of 

fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles  an  hour,  annihilating  '  time  and  space,' 
and,  like  the  renowned  John  Gilpin,  '  leaving  all  the  world  behind.' 
A  venerable  friend  of  mine,  seventy-five  years  of  age,  gravely  re- 
marked he  thought  it  was  passing  through  life  rather  too  quick, 
as  the  journey  at  least  was  a  very  short  one.  'Very  true,  my 
good  sir,'  said  I.  '  We  cannot,  however,  just  now  take  time  for 
those  sage  reflections  on  matters  and  things  in  general  so  neces- 
sary to  our  mental  and  moral  improvement.'  It  was  nineteen 
minutes  five  and  one-fourth  seconds  since  we  started,  and  we  dis- 
covered ourselves  beyond  the  forks  of  the  State  and  Dorchester 
roads.  Somebody  exclaimed  the  engine  was  '  waltzing.'  I  looked 
around,  and  'tis  a  fact,  Mr.  Editor;  notwithstanding  the  apparent 
absence  of  every  moving  principle  of  grace  or  agility,  it  turned 
round  as  nimbly  as  a  miss  of  sixteen :  but  I  swear  by  the  spec- 
tacles I  shall  one  day  or  other  wear,  that  either  the  road  or  the  1  *—• 
engine  turned  round  like  a  top — in  proof  of  which  I  appeal  to  my     j 


146         HISTORY  OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

own  pumps — if  it  did  not  afterward  chass'e  to  the  left  and  remain 
there  until  the  three  cars  led  off  a  country-dance  before  it.  Never 
did  reviewing  general  present  a  more  warlike  front  to  troops  pass- 
ing on  line  of  march  than  did  this  same  knight-errant,  '  clad  in  his 
iron-bound  armor.'  As  each  car  came  in  front,  it  gave  us  three 
whiffs  of  steam  in  acknowledgment  that  the  compliment  to  our 
company  was  felt  and  appreciated.  Never  were  the  three  ruffles 
of  the  drum  more  gratifying  to  my  feelings  when  military  ardor 
'  fired  my  breast.'  On  our  return,  it  again  headed  the  column. 
We  came  to  Sans-Souci  in  quick  and  double-quick  time.  Here  we 
stopped  to  take  up  a  recruiting-party — darted  forth  like  a  live 
rocket,  scattering  sparks  and  flames  on  either  side — passed  over 
three  salt-water  creeks,  hop,  step,  and  jump,  and  landed  us  all  safe 
at  the  Lines  before  any  of  us  had  time  to  determine  whether  or 
not  it  was  prudent  to  be  scared.  It  beats  the  Dumb  Chess-Player 
all  hollow.  Your  obedient  servant, 

"Jockey  of  York." 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind,  from  the  foregoing  extract 
of  "  Jockey  of  York,"  that  the  "  Best  Friend"  made  an 
excursion  trip  on  Christmas-day,  December  25,  1830. 

These  extracts,  from  one  of  the  most  respectable 
journals  of  the  time,  will  tend  to  prove  that  as  early  as 
the  months  of  November  and  December,  1830,  and 
January,  1831,  the  "Best  Friend"  was  in  existence,  aryd 
running  upon  the  South  Carolina  Railroad : 

From  the  Charleston  Courier,  January  11,  1831. 

"  On  Saturday  last,  the  first  anniversary  of  the  commencement 
of  the  railroad  was  celebrated.  Notice  having  been  previously 
given,  inviting  the  stockholders,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  as- 
sembled in  the  course  of  the  morning  at  the  company's  building 
in  Line  Street,  together  with  a  number  of  invited  guests.  The 
weather  the  day  and  night  previous  had  been  stormy,  and  the 
morning  was  cold  and  cloudy.  Anticipating  a  postponement  of 
the  ceremonies,  the  locomotive-engine  '  Best  Friend,  of  Charleston,' 
had  been  taken  to  pieces  for  cleaning,  but  upon  the  assembling  of 
the  company  she  was  put  in  order,  the  cylinders  new  packed,  and 
at  the  word,  the  apparatus  ready  for  movement.     The  first  trip 


The  "Best  Friend,"  the  First  Locomotive  built  in  the  United  States  for  actual  service  on  a  Railroad. 


The  "Best  Friend"  was  built  at  the  West  Point  Foundery  Shops,  in  New  York  City,  for  the  South  Carolina  Railroad,  arrived  in  Charleston  by  ship  Niagara  October  23d,  and  after  several  experimental  trials,  in  November  and  December, 
1880,  made  the  first  excursion  trip,  as  above,  on  Saturday,  15th  January,  1831,  heiug  the  anniversary  of  the  commencement  of  the  road.     (See  extract  ft.. in  '  %arlest09i  <  burier,  page  152.) 


EXPLOSION  OF   "BEST  FRIEND."  147 

was  performed  with  two  pleasure-cars  attached,  and  a  small  car- 
riage, fitted  for  the  occasion,  npon  which  was  a  detachment  of 
United  States  troops  and  a  field-piece  which  had  been  politely 
granted  by  Major  Belton  for  the  occasion. 

"  Upon  the  return  of  the  engine,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
tighten  the  packing,  which  occasioned  some  little  delay.  At  about 
one  o'clock  she  again  started  with  three  cars  attached,  upon  which 
were  upward  of  one  hundred  passengers.  At  two  o'clock  a  Feder- 
al salute  was  fired  by  the  detachment  of  troops  stationed  upon  the 
remains  of  the  fortification  erected  during  the  Revolution  near  the 
Quarter  House.  At  four  o'clock  the  company  commenced  return- 
ing, and  were  all  safely  landed  at  Line  Street  before  six.  The 
number  of  passengers  brought  down,  which  was  performed  in  two 
trips,  was  estimated  at  upward  of  two  hundred.  A  band  of  music 
enlivened  the  scene,  and  great  hilarity  and  good-humor  prevailed 
throughout  the  day." 

The  "  Best  Friend "  continued  to  do  the  necessary- 
work  of  the  road,  hauling  materials,  workmen,  ballast, 
lumber,  etc.,  used  in  the  construction,  during  all  of 
which  time  she  was  in  charge  of  Mr.  Nicholas  W.  Dar- 
rell,  who  had  assisted  Mr.  Petsch  in  putting  her  to- 
gether and  on  the  road  when  she  first  came  out  to 
Charleston. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

EXPLOSION     OF    "BEST     FEIEND." 

On  Friday  the  17th  of  June,  1831,  the  boiler  of  the 

"  Best  Friend "  exploded.  As  this  is  the  first  boiler- 
explosion  upon  a  locomotive  on  record  in  America,  we 
will  give  the  account  of  the  accident  and  its  conse- 
quences, from  an  article  in  the  Charleston  Courier,  June 
18,  1831 : 


148         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

"Saturday  Morning,  June  18,  1831. 

"  The  locomotive  '  Best  Friend '  started  yesterday  morning  to 
meet  the  lumber-cars  at  the  Forks  of  the  Road,  and,  while  turning 
on  the  revolving  platform,  the  steam  was  suffered  to  accumulate 
by  the  negligence  of  the  fireman,  a  negro,  who,  pressing  on  the 
safety-valve,  prevented  the  surplus  steam  from  escaping,  by  which 
means  the  boiler  burst  at  the  bottom,  was  forced  inward,  and  in- 
jured Mr.  Darrell,  the  engineer,  and  two  negroes.  The  one  had 
his  thigh  broken,  and  the  other  received  a  severe  cut  in  the  face 
and  a  slight  one  in  the  flesh  part  of  the  breast.  Mr.  Darrell  was 
scalded  from  the  shoulder-blade  down  his  back.  The  boiler  was 
thrown  to  the  distance  of  twenty-five  feet.  None  of  the  persons 
are  dangerously  injured  except  the  negro,  who  had  his  thigh 
broken.  The  accident  occurred  in  consequence  of  the  negro  hold- 
ing down  the  safety-valve  while  Mr.  Darrell,  the  engineer,  was 
assisting  to  arrange  the  lumber-cars,  and  thereby  not  permitting 
the  necessary  escape  of  steam  above  the  pressure  the  engine  was 
allowed  to  carry." 

The  wreck  of  the  old  "  Best  Friend  "  was  taken  by- 
Mr.  Julius  D.  Petsch  for  repairs  and  suck  alterations  as 
were  found  upon  experiment  to  be  necessary. 

Eailroad  men  of  tke  present  day  will  no  doubt  ask, 
"  Why  was  the  engineer,  Mr.  Darrell,  not  at  his  post 
upon  the  engine,  and  why  was  he  attending  to  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  lumber-cars,  leaving  his  engine  in 
charge  of  his  negro  fireman  ? "  To  these  questions  we 
will  reply  by  stating  that,  at  that  early  day  in  railroad 
aifairs,  no  such  officers  of  a  train  as  conductors,  flagmen, 
or  brakemen,  had  been  instituted.  The  engineers  of 
locomotives,  like  the  drivers  of  the  old-fashioned  stage- 
coaches in  by-gone  days,  and  of  the  horse-cars  used 
upon  railroads,  had  to  do  their  own  hitching  up,  etc. 
Hence  the  reason  why  Mr.  Darrell  was  not  on  the  en- 
gine during  the  arrangement  of  the  train.  At  that  time 
every  thing  had  to  be  learned  as  the  necessity  demanded 
it.     Previous  to  the  explosion  of  the  "  Best  Friend,"  an 


EXPLOSION   OF   "BEST  FRIEND."  149 

accident  occurred  at  a  switch,  which  is  explained  by 
Mr.  Allen,  the  chief  engineer,  and  which  called  for  a 
new  order  from  the  directors,  which  we  will  insert  as 
an  illustration  of  our  remarks  in  the  case  of  the  explo- 
sion: 

"  Charleston,  May  14,  1831. 
"  To  Elias  Horry,  Esq.,  President — 

"  Sir  :  I  hasten  to  communicate  the  causes  which  produced  the 
accident  of  yesterday  afternoon.  It  originated  in  the  wild  de- 
rangement of  the  tongue,  which  guides  the  wheel  through  the 
turnout,  by  some  ill-disposed  person,  and  was  rendered  injurious  to 
the  car  by  the  imprudent  speed  allowed  by  those  who  had  the 
management  of  the  engine — the  tongue  having  been  nailed  to  its 
proper  position,  but  was  made  loose  by  removing  the  fastening, 
and  was  probably  shaken  from  its  place  by  the  speed  with  which 
the  engine  and  one  car  had  preceded  the  one  injured.  Directions 
have  been  given  to  pass  the  turnout  at  moderate  speed,  and  the 
attention  of  the  person  in  charge  to  be  constantly  kept  on  the  road 
in  advance  of  the  engine. 

"  Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"Horatio  Allen." 

Extract  from  the  minutes,  July  3,  1831,  in  reference 
to  the  order  above  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Allen : 

"  Hesolved,  That  in  future  not  over  twenty-five  passengers  be 
allowed  to  go  on  each  car.  That  the  locomotive  shall  not  travel 
at  a  greater  speed  when  there  is  attached: 

"  One  car  and  passengers  at  fifteen  miles  an  hour. 

"  Two  cars  and  passengers  at  twelve  miles  an  hour. 

"  Three  cars  and  passengers  at  ten  miles  an  hour. 

"  And  that  directions  be  given  to  that  effect." 

The  foregoing  will  no  doubt  draw  a  smile  upon  the 
faces  of  engineers  and  railroad-men  of  the  present  day. 
It  only  serves  to  show  the  crudeness  of  railroad  experi- 
ence, at  that  early  day,  of  locomotives. 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Nicholas  W.  Darrell, 


150         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IX  AMERICA. 

the  first  locomotive-engineer  in  America,  will,  we  trnst, 
be  read  with  interest,  especially  by  Ms  fellow-engineers 
and  railroad-men.  It  was  received  in  answer  to  some 
inquiries  made  of  him  by  the  author,  in  reference  to  the 
"Best  Friend." 

"  Charleston,  September  2,  1869. 

"Me.  Wm.  H.  Bbotvtt— 

"  Deae  Sie  :  Your  letter  came  to  hand  a  few  days  ago,  and 
I  now  hasten  to  reply  to  it,  with  all  the  information  I  can  give  you 
upon  the  subject  at  this  distant  day,  drawn  from  memory  alone, 
as  I  have  no  notes  to  which  to  refer. 

"In  the  spring  of  1830,  Mr.  E.  L.  Miller,  of  our  city,  entered 
into  a  contract  to  furnish  the  South  Carolina  Railroad  with  a  loco- 
motive that  should  travel  ten  miles  an  hour,  and  draw  three  times 
its  own  weight. 

"  Under  this  contract  Mr.  Miller  brought  out  his  engine,  which 
was  built  at  the  "West  Point  Foundery  in  New-York  City. 

"  The  engine  arrived  by  the  ship  Niagara  in  Charleston,  in  the 
latter  part  of  October,  1830.  The  engine  was  called  the  'Best 
Friend,  of  Charleston.'  Mr.  Julius  D.  Petsch  and  myself  had 
served  our  apprenticeship  with  Mr.  Thomas  Dotterer,  of  the  firm 
of  Dotterer  &  Eason,  as  machinists  and  engineers,  and  were  en- 
gaged to  put  this  engine  together,  and  made  the  first  run  or  trial- 
trip,  when  she  proved  equal  to  double  the  stipulations  of  the  con- 
tract, running  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  to  twenty-one  miles  an  hour, 
with  forty  or  fifty  passengers  in  four  or  five  cars,  and  making 
thirty  to  thirty-five  miles  per  hour  without  cars.  From  this  date 
I  was  regularly  engaged  as  the  engineer  of  the  '  Best  Friend,'  the 
first  locomotive  ever  built  and  run  in  this  country,  in  the  actual 
service  of  a  company. 

"  In  June,  1831,  the  boiler  of  the  '  Best  Friend  '  exploded,  while 
in  charge  of  myself.  She  was  rebuilt  by  Mr.  Julius  D.  Petsch,  who 
substituted  straight  axles  and  cast  wheels  and  wrought  tires,  for 
crank-axles  and  wood  wheels  with  iron  tires.  Her  name  was  also 
changed,  and  called  the  '  Phoenix.' 

"  In  February,  1831,  after  the  arrival  of  the  '  Best  Friend,'  a 
second  engine,  called  the  '  West  Point,'  arrived  in  Charleston,  and 
was  put  upon  the  road.  Of  this  engine  I  was  also  engineer. 
When  the  '  Friend '  was  repaired,  she  was  run  by  Henry  Raworth 
as  engineer,  and  name  changed  to  Phcenix. 


EXPLOSION   OF   "BEST   FRIEND."  151 

"  I  continued  to  run  the  '  West  Point '  until  the  first  eight- 
wheel  engine  was  "brought  out,  called  the  '  South  Carolina,'  built 
in  New  York,  after  plans  of  Mr.  Horatio  Allen,  then  chief  en- 
gineer of  the  South  Carolina  Railroad. 

"  Julius  D.  Petsch,  Nicholas  W.  Darrell  (myself),  John  Eason, 
and  Henry  Raworth,  were  the  first  to  run  locomotives.  We  were 
all  apprentices  of  Mr.  Thomas  Dotterer,  and  natives  of  Charleston. 
I  have  been  constantly  in  the  employ  of  the  South  Carolina  Rail- 
road from  December  8, 1830,  to  the  present  time ;  was  born  on  the 
12th  day  of  November,  1807. 

"  Attached  is  a  rough  sketch  of  the  '  Best  Friend,'  made  from 
recollection  alone,  yet  I  was  so  long  upon  the  machine,  and  had 
her  so  many  years  before  my  eyes,  that  her  general  form  and  ap- 
pearance can  never  be  forgotten.  I  have  shown  the  sketch  to 
many  of  the  old  hands  now  Irving,  and  they  all  exclaim  at  once, 
*  There  is  the  old  "  Best  Friend  ! "  ' 

"  When  I  run  the  '  Best  Friend,'  I  had  a  negro  fireman  to  fire, 
clean,  and  grease  the  machine.  This  negro,  annoyed  at  the  noise 
occasioned  by  the  blowing  off  the  steam,  fastened  the  valve-lever 
down  and  sat  upon  it,  which  caused  the  explosion,  badly  injuring 
him,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  died  afterward,  and  scalding  me. 

"  I  hope  this  information  will  be  of  service  to  you.  H  you  re- 
quire any  other  facts  in  reference  to  the  first  engines,  let  me  hear 
from  you. 

"  Tours  with  great  respect, 

"Nicholas  W.  Dakreix, 
"  First  Superintendent  of  Machinery, 

"  South  Carolina  Railroad" 

The  following  letter  from  James  M.  Eason,  Esq.,  of 
Charleston,  Sonth  Carolina,  who  is  a  manufacturer  of 
steam-engines,  boilers,  and  machinery,  will  serve  to  es- 
tablish the  fact  that,  not  only  was  the  South  Carolina 
Eailroad  the  very  first  in  the  world  "built  expressly  for 
locomotives,  but  it  was  also  the  pioneer  in  having  the 
first  locomotive  for  actual  service  in  America  built  for 
their  use ;  also  the  first  to  order  a  locomotive  to  be 
built  in  their  midst  and  by  one  of  their  own  native 
mechanics  and  citizens : 


152         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

"Office  of  J.  M.  Eason  &  Brother,  Manufacturers  op 
"Steam-Engines,  Boilers,  and  Machinery. 

"Charleston,  S.  C,  September  24,  1869. 
"William  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  I  enclose  you  a  note  from  old  Mr.  Darrell,  and  also 
a  photograph  of  him  which  I  prevailed  upon  him  to  have  taken  for 
you. 

"  If  of  any  interest  to  you,  I  could  send  you  a  photograph  of 
Thomas  Dotterer,  who,  in  early  railroad  days,  built  the  '  Native,' 
the  first  locomotive  ever  built  with  outside  connections  and  straight 
axles.  After  the  explosion  of  the  '  Best  Friend,'  Mr.  Petsch  took 
the  wreck  to  Mr.  Dotterer's  shop  to  rebuild,  as  the  railroad  company 
had  at  that  time  no  shop.  In  repairing  the  'Best  Friend,'  Mr. 
Petsch  changed  the  double-crank  axle  to  a  straight  axle,  made  cast- 
iron  wheels,  changed  the  position  of  the  cylinders,  and  made  the 
first  outside  connection,  so  universal  at  the  present  day,  and  was 
then  appointed  master-machinist  of  the  road. 

"  I  remember  the  first  trip  of  the  '  Native.'  She  had  been 
started  out  to  run  up  the  road,  and  I  well  remember  the  great 
prejudice  which  Mr.  Dotterer  had  to  encounter  against  his  plan  of 
outside  connections,  which  was  then  urged  to  this  effect :  that  the 
power,  being  applied  to  the  end  of  the  axle,  would  rack  the  road  to 
pieces  and  the  engine  too ;  that  the  thing  (not  calling  it  an  engine) 
would  not  do,  etc.  But,  nothing  daunted,  he  made  the  engine  and 
sent  it  out.  Evening  came,  and  the  locomotive,  probably  the 
second  ever  run  on  the  road,  certainly  the  first  after  the  '  West 
Point,'  did  not  arrive  with  the  train.  Great  uneasiness  was  mani- 
fested by  the  officers  of  the  company,  for  in  those  days  everybody 
interested  attended  at  the  arrival  of  a  locomotive.  Finally  night 
came  on ;  neither  the  regular  train  nor  the  little  '  Native  '  (for  she 
only  weighed  about  four  tons)  was  in  sight,  and  the  murmurings 
could  be  heard  in  knots  of  persons  and  officials,  that  the  damned 
thing  had  broken  the  road,  or  blown  up,  or  some  other  casualty 
had  happened  to  her,  and  prevented  the  arrival  of  the  other  loco- 
motive and  train. 

"  Now,  my  dear  sir,  imagine  Mr.  Dotterer's  feelings ;  but  be- 
hold him,  the  man  of  genius,  standing  amid  the  bickerings  of  men, 
almost  fearing  that  his  little  engine  was  the  cause  of  the  delay, 
when  a  voice  cried  out,  '  She's  coming  ! '  and  the  sparks  from  the 
smoke-pipe  were  observed  (for  in  those  days  spark-arresters  were 
not  perfected).     Then  a  general  rush  to  hear  the  news,  to  see  what 


SECOND   AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVE.  153 

caused  the  detention,  and  learn  the  fate  of  the  poor  home-made 
'  Native,'  when  lo  !  a  cry  from  a  faithful  friend  of  Mr.  Dotterer, 
'  Why,  'tis  the  Native  pulling  locomotive  and  train  ! '  Then  look 
at  Thomas  Dotterer,  with  a  heart  full,  with  tear-drops  in  his  eyes, 
as  the  smile  of  successful  championship  and  confidence  in  his  work 
played  upon  his  countenance.  I  stood  beside  him  at  that  moment, 
and  shared  with  him  in  his  pride.  If  I  had  the  time  and  the  abil- 
ity, I  could  gather  many  interesting  facts  of  early  railroad  times 
here  in  our  old  city,  for  I  can  remember  many  things.  But  I  only 
intended  to  enclose  to  you  Mr.  Darrell's  letter  and  his  photograph, 
and  trust  you  will  excuse  me  for  thus  intruding  on  your  valuable 
time.  Yery  respectfully,  yours,  etc., 

"James  M.  Easok." 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

SECOND     AMERICAN    LOCOMOTIVE. 

The  second  locomotive  for  the  South  Carolina  Rail- 
road, and  also  the  second  built  in  this  country,  ar- 
rived at  Charleston  by  the  ship  Lafayette  on  Monday, 
February  28,  1831.  This  engine  was  ordered  from  the 
West  Point  Foundery,  and  constructed  from  plans  sent 
by  Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  road. 
Of  this  locomotive,  Mr.  David  Matthew,  after  describ- 
ing in  his  letter  to  the  author,  in  1859,  the  "  Stourbridge 
Lion  "  and  the  "  Best  Friend "  locomotives,  thus  con- 
tinues : 

"American  locomotive  number  two  was  called  the  'West 
Point.'  This  engine  was  contracted  for  by  Horatio  Allen,  and  was 
commenced  by  me,  David  Matthew,  in  the  fall  of  1830,  and  com- 
pleted and  shipped  to  the  Charleston  and  Hamburg  Kailroad  about 
the  middle  of  February,  1831.  This  locomotive  had  the  same  size 
of  engine,  frame,  wheels,  and  cranks,  as  the  '  Best  Friend,'  but  had 


154         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

a  horizontal  tubular  boiler.     The  tubes  were  two  and  a  half  inches 
in  diameter  and  about  six  feet  long." 

After  this  engine  was  run  upon  the  road  for  some 
time,  a  trial  of  her  speed  was  made,  which  is  thns  de- 
scribed in  the  Charleston  Courier,  March  12, 1831 : 

" On  Saturday  afternoon,  March  5, 1831, the  locomotive  'West 
Point '  underwent  a  trial  of  speed,  with  the  barrier  car  and  four 
cars  for  passengers,  on  our  railroad.  There  were  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  passengers,  of  which  number  fifty  were  ladies  in  the  four 
cars  and  nine  persons  on  the  engine,  with  six  bales  of  cotton  on 
the  barrier  car,  and  the  trip  to  the  Five-mile  House,  two  and  three- 
fourths  miles,  was  completed  in  eleven  minutes,  where  the  cars  were 
stopped  to  oil  the  axles  about  two  minutes.  The  two  and  one- 
fourth  miles  to  the  forks  of  Dorchester  road  were  completed  in 
eight  minutes.  The  safety  has  been  insured  by  the  introduction 
of  the  barrier-car  *  and  the  improvements  in  the  formation  of  the 
flange  of  the  wheels,  which  we  learn  was  made  by  a  young  me- 
chanic of  this  city,  Mr.  Julius  D.  Petsch,  in  the  company's  service. 
The  new  locomotive  worked  admirably,  and  the  safety-valve  being 
out  of  the  reach  of  any  person  but  the  engineer,  will  contribute  to 
the  prevention  of  accidents  in  future,  such  as  befell  the  '  Best 
Friend.' " 

As  we  before  stated,  Mr.  Nicholas  W.  Darrell  was 
the  engineer  who  ran  this  machine  from  the  time  it  was 
put  on  the  road.  He  thus  describes  it  in  a  letter  to  the 
author : 

"  Chakleston,  S.  C,  September  23,  1869. 

"  Mr.  William  H.  Brown — 

"  Respected  Sir  :  I  have  received  your  favor  of  the  22d  of 
August,  and  would  have  answered  it  before  this  time,  but,  being 
quite  indisposed  in  health,  I  have  been  prevented. 

"  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  know  that  the  information  and  sketch 
of  the  '  Best  Friend '  I  sent  in  my  last  letter  is  of  any  service  to 
you.     I  will  now  give  you  such  information  of  the  second  locomo- 

*  A  car  with  bales  of  cotton  fixed  up  as  a  rampart  between  the  locomotive  and 
passenger  cars. 


The  "Weist  Point."  the  Second  Locomotive  built  in  the  United  States  for  actual  service  on  a  Railroad 


SECOND   AMERICAN   LOCOMOTIVE.  155 

tive  for  our  road  as  my  memory  serves.  The  engine  was  named 
the  '  West  Point.'  The  boiler  was  horizontal,  with  tubes  or  flues 
running  lengthwise  with  the  boiler,  about  five  or  six  feet  long  and, 
I  think,  about  three  inches  in  diameter.  I  think  their  number  was 
six  or  eight.  These  tubes,  or  flues,  or  whatever  you  may  call 
them,  were  riveted  to  the  fire-box  and  to  the  other  end  of  the 
boiler.  They  were  made  of  iron,  and  the  water  in  the  boiler  sur- 
rounded them,  and  the  flame  and  smoke  passed  through  the  tubes 
into  the  smoke-box. 

"  The  engine  was  similar  in  every  respect  to  the  '  Best  Friend,' 
except  in  the  boiler.  I  herewith  send  you  a  rough  sketch  of  the 
machine  as  near  as  I  can  recollect. 

"  Several  persons  now  living,  and  who  saw  the  engine  at  that 
time,  think  that  the  sketch  looks  very  much  like  the  old  '  West 
Point.'  Hoping  that  this  brief  information  may  lead  to  some  more 
important  results  from  some  more  valuable  source,  I  remain,  dear 
sir,  Yery  respectfully,  etc., 

"  Nicholas  W.  Dakrell, 
"  Formerly  Superintendent  of  Machinery,  South  Carolina 

MailroacV 

-  Tristram  Tupper,  Esq.,  the  president  of  the  South 
Carolina  Railroad,  in  one  of  his  reports  under  the  head 
of  "  The  History  of  the  Road,"  gives  an  extract  from  the 
report  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Bennett,  four  days  after  the 
building  of  the  road  had  commenced,  as  follows : 

"  The  locomotive  shall  alone  be  used.  The  perfection  of  this 
power  in  its  application  to  railroads  is  fast  maturing,  and  will 
certainly  reach,  within  the  period  of  constructing  our  road,  a 
degree  of  excellence  which  will  render  the  application  of  animal 
power  a  gross  abuse  to  the  gifts  of  genius  and  science." 

"  This,"  continues  Mr.  Tupper,  "  was  assuming  a  great 
deal,  when  animal  power  was  used,  years  afterward,  on 
all  the  other  railroads  then  in  progress  in  this  country. 
But  what,  then,  were  our  expectations  as  regards  the 
performance  of  a  locomotive  ? 

"  On  March  1, 1830,  a  committee  reported  that  they 


156         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

had  accepted  the  offer  of  Mr.  E.  L.  Miller  to  construct 
a  locomotive-engine  in  New  York,  at  the  West  Point 
Foundery  ;  and  that  she  should  perform  at  the  rate  of 
ten  miles  an  hour,  instead  of  eight  as  first  proposed,  and 
carry  three  times  her  weight,  which  was  required  the 
year  before  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railroad, 
at  a  trial  of  engines  for  the  premium  of  ,£500,  which 
Mr.  Miller  went  out  to  witness.  Mr.  Miller's  engine, 
under  this  contract,  was  brought  out  by  him  in  the  fall 
of  1830,  and  on  the  14th  and  15th  of  December,  1830, 
had  her  trial  and  proved  her  power  and  efficiency  to  be 
double  those  contracted  for.  She  was  the  first  locomo- 
tive-engine built  in  the  United  States  to  run  on  a  rail- 
road. She  was  first  called  the  '  Best  Friend,'  but 
having  her  boiler  burst  in  June,  1831,  and  renewed  in 
Charleston,  she  was  afterward  called  the  l  Phoenix.' 
This  engine  was  built  according  to  the  plan  and  under 
the  personal  direction  of  our  talented  and  enterprising 
fellow-citizen  E.  L.  Miller,  Esq." 

At  the  time  this  engine  was  engaged,  1830,  Mr. 
Miller  led  the  van  among  the  advocates  of  steam  over 
horse  or  any  other  power  for  railroads.  Public  opinion 
was,  at  that  time,  much  divided  on  the  subject;  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company  leaned  in  favor 
of  horse-power;  but,  nothing  daunted  by  the  weight  of 
their  authority,  Mr.  Miller  persevered,  and,  with  an 
unyielding  fixedness  of  purpose,  proposed  to  construct 
an  engine,  on  his  own  responsibility,  equal  to  the  best 
then  in  use  in  England.  He  succeeded,  and  to  him 
belongs  the  honor  of  planning  and  constructing  the 
"  Best  Friend,"  the  first  locomotive  ever  built  and  worked 
on  a  railroad  in  the  United  States. 

The  directors  of  the  South  Carolina  Railroad,  there- 
fore, are  not  only  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  had 


SECOND   AMERICAN   LOCOMOTIVE.  157 

built  for  their  railroad,  and  run  upon  it,  the  first  locomo- 
tive built  in  the  United  States,  for  the  practical  use  of 
their  road,  but  they  are  also  entitled  to  the  credit  of 
being  the  pioneers  in  having  their  railroad  the  first,  not 
only  in  America  but  the  first  in  the  world,  constructed 
from  the  very  beginning  for  the  use  of  locomotive- 
power. 

"When  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  was  com- 
menced, nearly  a  year  before,  from  the  lack  of  experience 
and  under  the  advice  of  the  best  English  engineers,  the 
track  was  designed  and  constructed  for  horse-power, 
and  not  until  it  had  been  built  as  far  as  Ellicott's  Mills, 
a  distance  of  thirteen  miles,  did  the  subject  of  locomo- 
tives come  under  deliberation ;  as  Mr.  Peter  Cooper  states 
in  his  letter  to  the  author :  "  The  road,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  largest  stockholders,  was  considered  ruined  for 
locomotives,  which  at  that  time  began  to  show  some 
signs  of  advancement  and  improvement  in  England, 
and  they  refused,  in  many  instances,  to  advance  another 
dollar  toward  its  completion ; "  when  Mr.  Cooper's  little 
locomotive,  the  "  Tom  Thumb,"  demonstrated  the  fact 
that,  although  the  road  was  really  built  for  horse-power, 
locomotives  could  be  run  upon  it  successfully.  But 
with  the  Charleston  Railroad  directors  there  was  no 
such  doubt.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  board,  the 
chief  engineer  of  the  road,  Horatio  Allen,  made  his  able 
report  on  the  kind  of  power  the  road  should  be  con- 
structed to  sustain,  and  this  report  was  followed  by 
that  memorable  resolution  of  Mr.  Bennett  that  it  should 
be  built  for  locomotive-power ;  and  this  resolution  was 
unanimously  adopted  and  acted  upon  in  the  contract 
with  Mr.  Miller  to  furnish  a  locomotive. 


11 


158         HISTORY  OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

FIRST     IOCOIOTIVE-ENGINEEES. 

We  have  mentioned  the  name  of  Mr.  Nicholas  W. 
Darrell  (whose  likeness  is  herewith  presented)  as  the 
first  engineer  of  the  two  first-built  locomotives  in 
America ;  and  we  are  also  indebted  to  him  for  the  de- 
scriptions and  the  sketches  of  these  pioneer  machines 
for  railroad  usefulness,  the  "  Best  Friend,  of  Charleston," 
and  the  "West  Point." 

A  few  months  only  after  we  received  from  Mr. 
DarrelPs  own  hand  these  letters  of  description  and 
sketches,  the  old  veteran  in  railroad  service,  from  his 
age  and  infirmities,  yielded  up  his  spirit  to  the  God 
that  gave  it,  and  died  in  Charleston,  the  place  of  his 
nativity,  and  of  his  long  career  of  usefulness,  on  the  4th 
of  December,  1869,  beloved  and  regretted  by  all  who 
knew  him. 

In  December,  1830,  Mr.  Darrell  stood  upon  the  plat- 
form of  the  "  Best  Friend  "  as  its  engineer.  What  ima- 
gination could  then  have  conceived  any  thing  like  our 
present  system  of  railroads,  covering  a  continent  with  a 
net-work  of  iron  stretching  out  its  arms  from  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  Pacific  ?  Yet,  at  that  very  time  and  place, 
1830,  at  Charleston,  existed  one  of  the  small  beginnings. 
The  man  who  helped  to  give  the  initial  impulse  to 
the  wheels  of  locomotion  has  recently  departed  this 
life,  beloved  and  respected  by  a  large  circle  of  friends 
and  acquaintances,  but  almost  unknown  to  the  public ; 
yet,  in  Charleston,  he  was  known  and  appreciated.  His 
body  was  attended  to  its  last  resting-place  by  the  entire 
force  of  officials  and  employes  of  the  South  Carolina 


ft* 


N.    "W.    DARUELL. 


FIRST    LOCOMOTIVE-ENGINEERS.  159 

Railroad  Company,  and  numerous  friends,  and  the  work- 
shops were  closed  in  token  of  respect  for  the  first  loco- 
motive-engineer in  America. 

Next  to  Nicholas  W.  Darrell  comes  the  veteran  en- 
gineer, Mr.  Henry  G.  Raworth,  another  employe  of  the 
South  Carolina  Railroad  from  its  very  Ibeginning. 
When  the  Best  Friend  was  blown  up  through  the  igno- 
rance of  the  negro  fireman,  the  wreck  was  taken  by 
Mr.  Julius  D.  Petsch  to  Mr.  Dotterer's  shop  for  repairs, 
as  we  mentioned  in  another  chapter.  Young  Raworth, 
an  apprentice  of  Mr.  Dotterer,  assisted  Mr.  Petsch  in 
the  work  upon  the  engine,  and  when  again  ready  for 
the  road,  and  the  name  changed  to  the  "Phoenix," 
Mr.  Raworth  ran  it  as  engineer,  and  in  that  capacity 
has  continued  to  serve  the  company  up  to  the  present 
time,  and  is  now  running  an  engine  on  the  road,  a  pe- 
riod of  consecutive  service  of  over  forty-two  years. 
During  all  this  time  Mr.  Raworth  was  never  in  the 
service  of  any  other  railroad,  and  never  out  of  the  ser- 
vice of  the  South  Carolina  Railroad,  excepting  only  once 
during  the  Seminole  War,  when  the  Government  applied 
to  the  South  Carolina  Railroad  for  an  engineer  to  run 
the  engine  of  a  small  steamboat  engaged  in  transport- 
ing troops  and  supplies  in  the  Everglades  of  Florida. 
On  this  duty  Mr.  Raworth  was  engaged  ten  months, 
then  returned  to  his  old  position,  resumed  his  engine, 
and  is  running  now  (August  1,  1873).  In  the  fall  of 
1871,  the  author  (when  he  visited  South  Carolina  to 
examine  the  records  of  the  old  roads  for  statistics  for 
his  "  History  of  the  First  Locomotives  in  America ") 
had  the  pleasure  of  several  interviews,  and  a  ride  upon 
the  locomotive  over  his  entire  route,  with  Mr.  Raworth, 
and  received  much  valuable  information  as  to  the  early 


160  HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVE  IN  AMERICA. 

history  of  the  road.  During  the  ride  on  the  locomotive 
with  Mr.  Raworth,  the  author  saw  and  conversed  with 
another  veteran  in  the  service  of  the  South  Carolina 
Railroad,  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Raworth's  old  negro 
fireman.  This  faithful  assistant  has  been  Mr.  Raworth's 
fireman  on  the  locomotive  successively  from  one  to 
another,  as  occasion  required  a  change,  for  a  period 
of  over  nineteen  years,  and  during  all  that  time  never 
quitted  Mr.  Raworth.  Between  these  two,  Mr.  Ra- 
worth and  his  fireman,  the  most  friendly  understanding 
has  existed. 

In  one  of  Mr.  Raworth's  letters  to  the  author,  June 
IV,  1872,  he  states  that  his  old  negro  fireman,  "  Adam 
Perry,"  was  formerly  the  property  of  Major  John 
Schmidt,  of  Barnwell  District,  South  Carolina,  who 
hired  him  to  Mr.  George  B.  Lythgoe,  who  was  employed 
on  the  road  as  assistant  civil  engineer  at  that  time ; 
that  Adam  had  been  with  him,  in  October  coming, 
nineteen  years  ;  and  in  reference  to  his  character  would 
say  that  he  was  faithful,  industrious,  strictly  temperate, 
and  a  most  moral  negro;  always  respectful  to  his 
superiors  when  a  slave,  and  since  a  freeman,  and  has 
been  working  on  the  road  in  different  positions  thirty- 
seven  years.  Mr.  Raworth  also  wrote  that  he  had 
a  white  fireman  for  seventeen  years,  whose  name  was 
Thornton  Randall,  who  died  two  years  ago.  When 
running  on  Aikin  Hill,  he  had  both  firemen.  The 
most  perfect  friendly  relationship  existed  between 
these  men.  "  You  would  "  (he  writes)  "  never  hear  an 
improper  word  from  them ;  they  were  always  kind  to 
each  other." 

The  president  of  the  road  informed  the  author, 
when  in  Charleston,  that,  during  all  the  period  of  Mr. 
Raworth's  service,  as  a  locomotive-engineer,  the  engine 


FIRST    LOCOMOTIVE- ENGINEERS.  161 

was  never  in  the  shops  an  hour  for  repairs,  excepting  only 
when  actually  worn  out  from  constant  hard  work,  and 
some  of  its  parts  required  renewing.  Both  Mr.  Ra- 
worth  and  his  firemen,  white  and  black,  have  been 
total-abstinence  men  all  their  lives,  and  much,  if  not 
all,  of  this  remarkable  exemption  from  accident  and 
disaster  of  all  kinds  incident  to  railroad  running, 
may  be  attributed  to  that  excellent  trait  in  their  char- 
acters. 

During  the  author's  ride  on  the  locomotive  last  fall 
with  Mr.  Raworth,  the  veteran  was  well,  hearty,  and 
in  the  finest  spirits,  and  in  his  own  peculiar  way  he  said 
that  he  had  been  running  so  long,  a  period  now  of 
nineteen  consecutive  years,  over  the  same  route  and 
between  the  same  two  points,  that  he  had  become  so 
familiar  with  every  feature  on  it,  that  if  the  division 
boss  removed  one  of  the  spikes,  or  put  another  in  its 
place,  he  was  sure  to  notice  it.  The  same  was  the  case 
with  his  old  fireman.  He  thought  he  would  be  fit 
for  service  for  ten  years  yet,  and  then  the  company 
would  switch  him  off  on  some  comfortable  siding,  put  a 
shed  over  him,  and  take  care  of  him  the  rest  of  his 
life,  as  they  had  done  with  old  Darrell,  another  of 
their  faithful  servants,  as  the  first  and  second  locomo- 
tive-engineers in  America. 

Since  the  foregoing  was  prepared  for  our  present 
volume,  we  received,  on  August  16th,  from  the  railroad 
veteran,  Mr.  Raworth,  the  following  letter,  enclosing 
the  photographs  of  himself  and  his  old  negro  fire- 
man: 


"Aiken,  S.  C,  August  11,  1873. 
"  Mk.  Wm.  H.  Brown— 

"  Dear  Sir  :  Yours  is  received.     I  am  very  sorry  I  had  to  keep 
you  so  long  for  our  photographs.     My  old  fireman  has  been  very 


162  HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVE   IN  AMERICA. 

sick,  which  is  the  reason  why  I  could  not  send  them  earlier.  Adam 
Perry  has  worked  on  the  South  Carolina  Railroad  thirty-seven  years, 
and  nineteen  years  with  me  as  my  fireman.  Hoping  the  photo- 
graphs will  be  in  time  for  you, 

"  I  remain,  very  respectfully, 

"  H.  G.  Rawoeth." 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

horatio   alley's   letter. 

We  will  now  close  our  history  of  the  first  and  second 
American-built  locomotives,  by  giving  in  this  place 
Horatio  Allen's  communication  to  the  author  on  several 
points  of  interest,  to  which  we  have  alluded  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages.     Mr.  Allen's  letter  is  as  follows : 

"New  York,  March  1,  1869. 
"Me.  Weluah  H.  Browst — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  You  ask  me  for  some  incidents  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  railroads  and  locomotives  in  this  country,  of  which  I  have 
personal  knowledge. 

"  Being  one  of  the  first  of  American  engineers  who  gave  atten- 
tion to  the  subject,  at  the  time  when  the  indications  were  that  a 
new  era  in  intercommunication  was  about  to  open,  and  having 
visited  England  to  obtain  the  information  that  existed  at  that 
time,  and  having  given  special  attention  to  what  was  to  be,  and 
proved  to  be,  the  vital  element  of  the  new  era — the  locomotive — I, 
of  necessity,  was  a  party  to  many  events  of  interest  at  this  day. 
It  has  always  been  my  intention  to  place  on  record  some  of  the 
earlier  incidents ;  but  the  postponement  to  a  more  convenient 
time,  which  the  business  engagements  of  life  have  led  to,  will  leave 
this  intention  unfulfilled. 

•  "  At  your  request,  and,  as  you  say,  it  may  be  of  some  value  to 
you  personally,  I  will  briefly  refer  to  one  or  two  events  of  the 


HORATIO  ALLEN'S   LETTER.  163 

character  of  that  contained  in  the  quotation  sent  me.  The  quota- 
tion is  from  remarks  made  by  me  at  the  opening  of  the  New  York 
and  Erie  Railroad  in  1852. 

"  It  is  often  and,  perhaps,  generally  thought  that  the  railroad 
system  was  imported  full  grown.  Such  is  not  the  fact,  and  it 
would  greatly  interest  many  Americans  to  have  presented  the 
part  that  was  taken  in  this  country  in  the  development  of  this 
great  instrumentality  of  modern  times.  I  have  not  the  time  to 
present  it,  but  I  will  refer  to  one  or  two  events.  One  was  the  run- 
ning of  the  first  locomotive  on  a  railroad  on  this  continent.  Here- 
with I  send  the  remarks  made  by  me  at  the  opening  of  the  New 
York  and  Erie  Railroad,  to  which  I  will  only  add,  that  the  loco- 
motive was  built  under  my  directions  in  England,  set  up  and  run 
as  described  in  1829. 

"  The  first  decision  in  the  world  to  build  a  railroad  expressly 
for  locomotive-power,  for  general  freight  and  passenger  business, 
was  in  this  country,  and  at  a  period  of  time  which  gives  especial 
interest  to  that  decision.  In  the  year  1829,  it  was  my  duty,  as 
chief  engineer  of  the  South  Carolina  Railroad,  to  report  to  the  di- 
rectors as  to  the  plan  of  construction  of  that  work,  in  length  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  miles. 

"  At  that  time,  the  question  of  motive  power  was  in  the  follow- 
ing position  :  In  England,  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  company 
had  referred  the  question  of  motive-power  to  a  commission  of  two 
engineers  of  great  eminence,  James  Walker,  of  London,  and  John 
W.  Rastrick,  of  Stone  Bridge.  These  gentlemen,  after  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  whole  subject,  united  in  an  elaborate  report, 
accompanied  by  maps,  etc.,  showing  how  the  system  recommended 
was  to  be  carried  out,  and  that  system  was  a  series  of  stationary 
engines,  placed  one  to  three  miles  apart,  which,  through  long 
ropes,  were  to  draw  the  trains  from  one  engine  to  the  other. 

"  On  this  side  the  water,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
Company  had  sixteen  miles  in  operation  by  horse-power.  By  cor- 
respondence with  the  gentlemen  who  had  the  beginning  of  that 
great  enterprise  in  hand,  I  was  informed  that  they  were  advised 
by  English  engineers,  consulted  on  the  subject,  to  build  their  road 
for  horse-power. 

"  At  this  time,  and  with  this  intimation  before  me,  I  made  my 
report  to  the  directors  of  the  South  Carolina  Railroad  Company. 
In  that  report  I  made  such  comparison  between  horse-power  and 
locomotive-power  as  the  information  at  the  time  enabled  me  to 


164         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

make.  I  presented  my  conclusion  that  the  comparison  was  in 
favor  of  locomotive-power,  and  I  based  my  recommendation,  that 
the  road  should  he  built  for  locomotive-power,  essentially  on  the 
ground  that  there  was  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  breed  of 
horses  would  be  materially  improved,  but  that  the  present  breed 
of  locomotives  was  to  furnish  a  power  of  which  no  one  knew  its 
limit,  and  which  would  far  exceed  its  present  performances.  At 
the  meeting  where  this  report  was  submitted,  the  directors,  before 
they  left  their  seats,  passed  the  resolution  unanimously  that  the 
South  Carolina  Railroad  should  be  built  solely  for  locomotive-power. 

"  To  one  other  circumstance  in  connection  with  the  same  road 
I  will  refer.  I  had  early  come  to  the  conclusion  that  to  make  the 
locomotive  the  instrument  that  would  be  required,  it  must  furnish 
more  power  in  one  instrument  and  one  engineer ;  that  it  was  plain 
that  the  materials,  and  that,  too,  of  the  road  which  carried  the  loco- 
motive, limited  the  weight  to  rest  under  each  wheel,  and  that,  as 
more  power  required  more  weight,  there  must,  of  necessity,  be 
more  wheels,  and  that,  if  more  wheels  are  required,  power  must  be 
made  in  reference  to  curves  and  change  of  grade.  In  reports  made 
in  1830-'31,  I  set  forth  the  combinations  by  which  such  provision 
could  be  made.  At  that  time  the  locomotives  in  England  were  all 
on  four  wheels,  and  it  was  maintained  by  a  strong  English  influ- 
ence that  it  was  not  for  us,  in  America,  to  depart  from  English 
usage.  The  subject  was  matter  of  discussion  for  a  winter.  I  took 
the  position  (English  usage  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding)  that 
no  long  road  for  general  passenger  and  freight  purposes  could 
maintain  itself  without  the  use  of  eight-wheel  locomotives,  and 
that  probably  ten-wheel  locomotives  would  also  be  found  desir- 
able. Experience  has  amply  sustained  my  position.  My  efforts 
were  successful,  and  in  1831  the  first  eight-wheel  locomotives  were 
built  on  my  plans  and  under  my  direction.  The  combinations  by 
which  provision  was  made  for  curves  and  changes  of  grade  are 
substantially  those  so  generally  used  on  eight-wheel  locomotives 
and  eight-wheel  passenger-cars. 

"  It  is  of  some  interest  that  their  introduction,  without  patent, 
was  in  a  great  degree  the  means  of  saving  the  railroad  companies 
and  the  public  from  charges  for  their  use. 

"  It  is  with  difficulty  that  I  have  found  time  to  put  on  paper,  in 
this  brief  way,  this  reply  to  your  inquiries. 

"  Yours  respectfully, 

"Horatio  Allen. 


CLAIMS   TO   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES.  165 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

CLAIMS  TO  FIKST  LOCOMOTIVES. 

In"  previous  pages  the  author  has  stated  that  he  was 
mainly  induced  to  compile  this  history  in  consequence 
of  the  numerous  statements  in  the  public  journals, 
giving  what  they  supposed  to  be  correct  accounts 
or  histories  of  the  first  locomotive  built  and  run  upon  a 
railroad  in  the  United  States,  and  his  desire  to  settle 
that  much-disputed  question  of  the  first  locomotive  that 
was  in  the  actual  service  of  a  company.  The  following 
from  the  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger,  of  January  18, 
1869,  is  a  sample  of  those  statements  which  have,  from 
time  to  time,  been  spread  before  the  public,  as  the 
true  history  of  the  first  locomotive.  Since  this  state- 
ment was  published  in  the  Ledger,  the  author  has  been 
frequently  told  that  the  first  American  locomotive  was 
built  in  Philadelphia,  and  run  upon  the  Germantown 
and  Morristown  Railroad,  in  1832.  The  communica- 
tion in  the  Ledger  reads  thus : 

"The  first  really  effective  locomotive  in  America,"  says  Mr. 
Haskell,  in  the  Goachmdker>s  Journal,  "  was  built  in  Philadelphia, 
from  a  draught  by  Rufus  Tyler,  a  brother-in-law  of  the  late  Matthias 
Baldwin,  of  Philadelphia.  Messrs.  Tyler  &  Baldwin  had  formed 
a  co-partnership  and  entered  into  business  at  the  corner  of  Sixth 
and  Miner  Streets,  Philadelphia,  where  the  plans  and  patterns  were 
made  and  the  building  of  the  iron  horse  commenced.  In  conse- 
quence of  a  misunderstanding,  the  partnership  was  dissolved,  and 
Mr.  Baldwin  continued  the  business,  removing  to  a  shop  in  Lodge 
Alley,  where  the  engine  was  completed.  Mr.  Tyler  was  at  that 
time  considered  the  best  mechanic  in  America.  The  wheels  of 
the  engine  were  made  of  wood,  with  broad  rims  and  thick  tires, 
the  flange  being  bolted  on  the  side.    It  was  called  '  Old  Ironsides,' 


166         HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

and  was  built  in  1832.  At  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  she  was 
first  put  in  motion  on  the  Germantown  and  Norristown  Railroad  at 
their  depot,  Ninth  and  Greene  Streets.  She  ran  a  mile  an  hour, 
and  was  considered  the  wonder  of  the  clay.  On  trial,  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  the  wheels  were  too  light  to  draw  the  tender,  and  to 
obviate  this  difficulty  we  had  the  tender  placed  in  front  of  the 
engine,  which  kept  the  wheels  on  the  track.  Mr.  Baldwin,  the 
machinist,  and  myself,  pushed  the  engine  ahead,  until  we  obtained 
some  speed,  when  we  all  jumped  on  the  engine,  our  weight  keep- 
ing the  wheels  from  slipping  on  the  track.  The  boiler  being  too 
small  for  the  engine,  steam  was  only  generated  fast  enough  to 
keep  the  engine  in  motion  a  short  time,  so  that  we  were  compelled 
to  alternately  push  and  ride  until  we  arrived  at  Germantown 
depot,  where  we  rested  and  took  some  refreshments  at  the  expense 
of  the  hotel-keeper  at  that  place. 

"  At  four  o'clock  we  started  on  our  return  to  Philadelphia, 
alternately  riding  and  pushing  in  the  same  manner  that  we  had 
come.  Upon  arriving  at  a  turn  on  the  road,  at  the  up-grade,  the 
engine  suddenly  stopped,  when,  upon  examination,  it  was  found 
that  the  connecting  pipe  between  the  water-tank  and  the  boiler 
had  been  frozen,  and  the  steam  was  all  out  of  the  boiler.  It  was 
then  about  eight  o'clock,  and  was  growing  each  moment  colder. 
'  Necessity  knows  no  law,'  and  so,  after  a  short  consultation,  we 
made  a  summary  appropriation  of  sundry  panels  of  a  post-and-rail 
fence  close  to  the  track,  and  started  a  fire  underneath  the  pipe  to 
thaw  it.  In  a  short  time  thereafter  we  had  steam  up  and  resumed 
our  journey  toward  Philadelphia,  arriving  at  the  depot  about 
eleven  o'clock.  Several  successive  trials  were  made  during  the  fol- 
lowing year;  after  each,  Mr.  Baldwin  added  improvements  and 
made  alterations  in  the  machinery.  In  about  a  year  it  was  found 
that  the  grease  had  saturated  the  hubs  and  loosened  the  spokes, 
and  they  finally  went  to  pieces,  and  were  replaced  by  new  ones. 
This  same  engine  is  still  in  existence  in  Vermont." 

When  the  author  read  this  description  in  the  Ledger, 
with  the  astounding  caption  that  preceded  it,  viz.,  "  The 
first  really  effective  engine  in  America,"  he  could  not 
restrain  his  wonder.  His  surprise  was  only  increased 
when  he  tried  to  imagine  what  the  editor  could  be 
thinking  about  when  he  suffered  such  a  communication 


CLAIMS  TO  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES.  167 

to  enter  the  columns  of  his  valuable  journal.  When 
the  author  tried  to  imagine  the  appearance  of  this  ex- 
cursion-party to  and  from  Grermantown — first  pushing 
awhile,  then  jumping  on  for  a  ride,  then  off  again  for 
another  push,  and  on  again  for  another  ride — he  was 
forcibly  reminded  of  a  scene  he  has  often  witnessed 
after  the  boss  and  his  hands,  on  a  railroad  division, 
had  knocked  off  for  dinner,  when  a  parcel  of  school- 
boys amused  themselves  with  a  ride  upon  the  unoc- 
cupied hand-car. 

If  Philadelphia  will  claim  this  specimen  of  a  loco- 
motive as  her  share  in  the  enterprise  of  introducing  this 
indispensable  machine  into  the  United  States,  and  as 
late  as  1832,  she  is  welcome  to  enjoy  it;  and  her 
mechanics  maybe  justly  proud  of  their  handiwork  ;  for 
they  had  certainly  made  no  improvement  upon  the 
English  locomotives,  several  of  which  were  at  that 
time  (December,  1832)  in  this  country ;  besides  the  fact 
that  there  had  been  built  in  this  country,  between  the 
years  1829  and  '31,  one  most  successful  experimental 
locomotive  by  Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York,  which 
we  describe  in  full,  and  also  there  had  been  built  in 
1830  and  '31  several  American  locomotives  for  actual 
railroad  service,  which  were  in  successful  operation, 
as  we  have  already  shown,  viz.,  the  "  Best  Friend  "  and 
the  "  West  Point,"  for  the  Charleston  Railroad.  An- 
other article  upon  the  subject  of  early  locomotives, 
or  rather,  as  it  is  headed,  "  The  first  train  of  cars  by 
steam  in  America,"  we  read  in  the  Boston  Advertiser  of 
January,  1869,  as  follows  : 

"  The  First  Steam-train  in  America." — In  the  superintend- 
ent's office  at  the  Providence  Railroad  Station,  in  this  city,  is 
a  picture  of  the  first  steam  railroad  train  in  America,  run  from 
Albany  to  Sehenectady,  over  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad,  in 


168         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

1831.  The  train  consisted  of  a  locomotive,  tender,  and  two  cars. 
The  locomotive,  named  the  '  John  Bull,'  and  imported  from  Eng- 
land, was  of  very  simple  and  uncouth  construction,  and  might  be 
mistaken  in  these  days  for  a  pile-driver.  Its  cylinders  were  five 
and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  and  sixteen  inches'  stroke,  and  the 
connecting-rods  worked  on  double  cranks  on  the  front  axle.  It 
weighed  four  tons.  John  Hampson,  an  Englishman,  was  the 
engineer.  The  tender  was  a  simple  frame,  with  a  platform,  upon 
which  were  placed  a  heap  of  wood  used  for  fuel,  and  two  crates 
filled  with  similar  combustibles.  This  vehicle  had  also  a  passenger- 
box  in  the  rear.  The  cars  were  patterned  after  the  old  stage- 
coaches, resembling  somewhat  the  railroad-coaches  still  used  in 
England,  and  were  coupled  with  three  links  instead  of  one,  as  at 
present.  Twelve  passengers  occupied  the  inside  seats,  and  three 
were  seated  outside.  Among  them  were  Mr.  Thurlow  Weed  and 
ex-Governor  Yates.  Their  portraits,  and  those  of  their  fellow- 
passengers,  which  the  picture  gives  in  sombre  and  sharply-defined 
silhouette,  would  readily  be  recognized  by  any  one  acquainted 
with  them  when  they  made  the  excursion.  The  picture  is  photo- 
graphed by  Messrs.  J.  L.  Howard  &  Co.,  of  Springfield,  from  the 
original,  in  the  possession  of  the  Connecticut  Histoiical  Society." 

The  original  picture  of  the  engine  and  train  of  cars, 
from  which  the  photograph  just  described  was  taken, 
was  executed  by  the  author  of  this  history,  and  pre- 
sented by  him  to  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society  at 
Hartford.  This  photograph  copy  has  since  been  litho- 
graphed for  Thomas  Jariny,  at  the  lithographic  estab- 
lishment of  Sage  &  Son,  Buffalo,  in  1865. 

The  original  picture,  presented  by  the  author  to  the 
Connecticut  Historical  Society,  was  done  on  the  very  day 
the  engine  made  its  first  trip  with  a  train  of  cars.  At- 
tached to  this  lithograph  Mr.  Jarmy  has  given  a  kind  of 
history  of  the  machine,  as  follows :  "  View  of  the  first 
American  railroad  train,  as  it  appeared  ready  for  start- 
ing, on  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railway,  the  first  part 
of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  from  Albany  to 
Schenectady,  about  the  31st  of  July,  1832,  executed  at 


CLAIMS   TO   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES.  169 

the  time  on  black  paper  with  a  pair  of  scissors,  "by  a  Mr. 
Brown,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  lithographed  from  a  pho- 
tograph of  the  original  picture  in  the  possession  of  the 
Connecticut  Historical  Society."  Mr.  Jarmy  also  goes 
on  to  describe  and  name  the  passengers  in  the  cars,  and 
gives  the  cost  and  charges  of  the  importation  of  the 
engine  at  the  custom-house,  New  York,  and  the  date, 
November  12,  1831,  as  the  freight  of  said  locomotive, 
the  "  John  Bull,"  per  schooner  Eclipse,  from  New  York 
to  Albany.  With  regard  to  this  lithograph,  which,  no 
doubt,  many  railroad  men  look  upon  as  authentic,  the 
author  will  say  that,  so  far  as  the  representation  of  the 
engine  and  train  of  cars,  together  with  the  passen- 
gers, is  concerned,  the  copy  really  is  correct,  nor  can 
the  author  complain  at  his  name  being  given  as  the 
artist  who  took  the  original  sketch  in  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society  rooms ;  but  the  public  should  be  in- 
formed of  the  utter  inaccuracy  in  the  historical  portion 
of  the  lithographic  copy.  The  locomotive  drawn  by  the 
author  on  that  occasion  was  not  the  English  engine, 
"  John  Bull,"  as  Mr.  Jarmy  represents,  but  the  American- 
built  locomotive  "  De  Witt  Clinton."  It  was  sketched  on 
the  9th  day  of  August,  1831,  the  day  of  the  first  excur- 
sion-trip with  a  train  of  cars  attached..  Several  experi- 
ments during  the  previous  month  of  July  had  been 
made  with  different  kinds  of  fuel,  to  discover  that 
which  would  be  best  suited  for  its  use. 


170         HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA. 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

FIRST    LOCOMOTIVE    IN    NEW    TORE:. 

This  locomotive,  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton,"  stood  upon 
the  track  already  fired  up,  and  with  a  train  of  some  five 
or  six  passenger-coaches  attached  to  it  (two  only  were 
represented  in  our  sketch,  for  want  of  room.)  These 
passenger-coaches  were  of  the  old-fashioned  stage-coach 
pattern,  with  a  driver's  seat  or  box  upon  either  end  out- 
side. They  had  hitherto  been  used  upon  the  road  for 
passengers,  and  drawn  by  horse-power.  At  this  early 
day  when  the  road  was  just  built,  passengers  took  a 
car  at  the  foot  of  the  inclined  plane  in  Albany,  and 
were  drawn  up  by  a  stationary  engine  to  the  top  of  the 
hill  where  the  regular  track  commenced.  Horses  were 
then  hitched  to  the  cars  and  proceeded  to  the  other  end 
of  the  road,  where  another  inclined  plane,  not  then  built, 
but  soon  after  completed,  with  a  stationary  engine, 
lowered  the  cars  into  Schenectady.  (Both  these  planes 
are  now  removed.)  On  arriving  at  the  top  of  the  plane 
at  Albany  on  this  memorable  occasion,  the  engine  and 
train  were  seen  standing  upon  the  track.  The  peculiar 
appearance  of  the  machine  and  train  (the  first  ever  seen 
by  the  author)  arrested  his  attention,  and  he  at  once 
resolved  to  make  a  sketch  of  the  singular-looking  affair 
and  its  equally  singular-looking  appendages.  Drawing 
from  his  pocket  a  letter  just  received  of  a  few  lines  only, 
written  upon  a  whole  sheet  of  paper  (no  envelopes  were 
used  at  that  day),  and  substituting  his  hat  for  a  desk, 
he  commenced  his  sketch  of  the  unique  machine  standing 
before  him.  Meantime  the  excursionists  were  entering 
the  cars,  and  the  author  had  taken  a  hasty,  rough  draw- 


FIRST   LOCOMOTIVE   IN  NEW  YORK.  171 

ing  of  the  machine,  the  tender,  the  individual  standing 
on  the  platform  of  the  machine  as  its  engineer,  and  the 
shape  of  the  first  passenger-coach,  when  a  tin  horn  was 
sounded  and  the  word  was  given,  "  All  aboard,"  by  Mr. 
John  T.  Clark,  the  master  of  transportation,  who  acted 
as  conductor  on  that  memorable  occasion.  No  such 
officer  as  a  conductor  had  been  required  upon  a  rail- 
road before  locomotives  and  long  trains  of  cars  were 
adopted.  Before  this  event,  in  place  of  conductors,  the 
drivers  of  the  single-horse  cars  collected  the  tickets  or 
fare,  as  omnibus-drivers  do  at  the  present  time. 

On  this  occasion,  the  two  first  cars,  or  coaches,  as 
they  were  then  called,  and  the  third  also,  were  just  as 
the  two  are  represented  in  our  sketch.  The  remainder 
of  the  cars  on  the  train  were  surmounted  with  seats 
made  of  rough  plank  to  accommodate  the  vast  crowd  of 
anxious  expectants  assembled  to  witness  the  experiment 
and  participate  in  this  first  ride  on  a  railroad  train 
drawn  by  a  locomotive.  The  cars  were  crowded  inside 
and  outside ;  not  an  available  position  was  unoccupied. 
Two  persons  stood  ready  for  every  place  where  one  could 
be  accommodated,  and  the  train  started  on  its  route, 
leaving  hundreds  of  the  disappointed  standing  around. 

As  there  were  no  coverings  or  awnings  to  protect 
the  deck-passengers  upon  the  tops  of  the  cars  from  the 
sun,  the  smoke,  and  the  sparks,  and  as  it  was  in  the  hot 
season  of  the  year,  the  combustible  nature  of  their  gar- 
ments, summer  coats,  straw  hats,  and  umbrellas,  soon 
became  apparent,  and  a  ludicrous  scene  was  enacted 
among  the  outside  excursionists  before  the  train  had 
run  the  first  two  miles. 

The  author  was  an  inside  passenger  on  that  ever- 
memorable  occasion.  We  say  memorable,  for  it  was 
one  never  to  be  forgotten.     It  was  on  the  9th  day  of 


172         HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

August,  1831,  when  what  was  represented  and  known  to 
be  the  first  American  locomotive  ever  run  upon  a  rail- 
road in  the  State  of  New  York.  Thus  the  sketch  in  our 
work,  representing  a  locomotive,  tender,  and  two  passen- 
ger-cars attached,  is,  as  we  before  stated,  a  truthful  repre- 
sentation of  one  of  the  first  railroad  trains  in  America, 
and  the  very  first  run  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
followed  soon  after  the  last  successful  locomotive  experi- 
ments by  Mr.  Peter  Cooper  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad,  and  the  advent  of  the  first  American-built 
locomotives  for  actual  service  upon  the  Charleston  and 
Hamburg  Railroad,  in  South  Carolina.  It  was  the 
third  locomotive  built  in  America  for  actual  service. 
This  engine  was  named  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton,"  and  is 
thus  described  by  Mr.  David  Matthew,  in  his  letter  to 
the  author  in  1859  : 

t 
"American  engine  No.  3  was  called  the  'De  Witt  Clinton.' 

It  was  contracted  for  by  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  at  the  West  Point 
Foundery,  and  was  commenced  by  me  to  fit  up  in  April,  1831,  soon 
after  the  engines  'Best  Friend'  and  'West  Point'  were  completed 
and  forwarded  to  Charleston. 

"  I  left  New  York  with  the  '  De  Witt '  on  the  25th  of  June, 
1831,  and  had  steam  on  to  commence  running  in  one  week  from 
that  time.  The  '  De  Witt '  had  two  cylinders  five  and  a  half  inches 
in  diameter  and  sixteen  inches'  stroke;  four  wheels,  all  drivers, 
four  and  a  half  feet  diameter,  with  all  the  spokes  turned  and 
finished.  The  spokes  were  wrought-iron,  hubs  cast-iron,  and  the 
wheels  tired  with  wrought-iron,  inside  crank  and  outside  connect- 
ing-rods to  connect  all  four  wheels ;  a  tubular  boiler  with  drop 
furnace,  two  fire-doors,  one  above  the  other ;  copper  tubes  two  and 
a  half  inches  in  diameter  and  about  six  feet  long ;  cylinders  on  an 
incline,  and  the  pumps  worked  vertically  by  bell-crank.  This  en- 
gine weighed  about  three  and  a  half  tons  without  water,  and  would 
run  thirty  miles  an  hour  with  three  to  five  cars  on  a  level,  with 
anthracite  coal,  and  was  the  first  engine  run  in  the  State  of  New 
York  on  a  raik-oad." 


FIRST   LOCOMOTIVE   IN  NEW  YORK.  173 

On  this  first  excursion,  on  the  9th  day  of  August, 
1831,  as  no  such  officer  as  a  conductor  had  been  required 
upon  the  road,  where  hitherto  no  connected  train  of 
cars  had  been  run,  but  where  each  driver  officiated  as 
collector  of  fares,  Mr.  John  T.  Clark,  as  the  first  passen- 
ger railroad  conductor  in  the  North,  stepping  from  plat- 
form to  platform  outside  the  cars,  collected  the  tickets 
which  had  been  sold  at  hotels  and  other  places  through 
the  city.  When  he  finished  his  tour,  he  mounted  upon 
the  tender  attached  to  the  engine,  and,  sitting  upon  the 
little  buggy-seat,  as  represented  in  our  sketch,  he  gave 
the  signal  with  a  tin  horn,  and  the  train  started  on  its 
way.  But  how  shall  we  describe  that  start,  my  readers  ? 
It  was  not  that  quiet,  imperceptible  motion  which  char- 
acterizes the  first  impulsive  movements  of  the  passenger- 
engines  of  the  present  day.  Not  so.  There  came  a 
sudden  jerk,  that  bounded  the  sitters  from  their  places, 
to.  the  great  detriment  of  their  high-top  fashionable 
beavers,  from  the  close  proximity  to  the  roofs  of  the 
cars.  This  first  jerk  being  over,  the  engine  proceeded 
on  its  route  with  considerable  velocity  for  those  times, 
when  compared  with  stage-coaches,  until  it  arrived  at  a 
water-station,  when  it  suddenly  brought  up  with  jerk 
No.  2,  to  the  further  amusement  of  some  of  the  excur- 
sionists. Mr.  Clark  retained  his  elevated  seat,  thank- 
ing his  stars  for  its  close  proximity  to  the  tall  smoke- 
pipe  of  the  machine,  in  allowing  the  smoke  and  sparks 
to  pass  over  his  head.  At  the  water-station  a  short 
stop  was  made,  and  a  successful  experiment  tried,  to 
remedy  the  unpleasant  jerks.  A  plan  was  soon  hit 
upon  and  put  into  execution.  The  three  links  in  the 
couplings  of  the  cars  were  stretched  to  their  utmost 
tension,  a  rail,  from  a  fence  in  the  neighborhood,  was 
placed  between  each  pair  of  cars  and  made  fast  by  means 

12 


174         HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

of  the  packing-yarn  for  the  cylinders,  a  bountiful  supply 
being  on  hand  (as  the  present  brass-ring  substitute  had 
not  then  been  invented).  This  arrangement  improved 
the  order  of  things,  and  it  was  found  to  answer  the 
purpose,  when  the  signal  was  again  given,  and  the 
engine  started. 

In  a  short  time  the  engine  (after  frightening  the 
horses  attached  to  all  sorts  of  vehicles  filled  with  the 
people  from  the  surrounding  country,  or  congregated  all 
along  at  every  available  position  near  the  road,  to  get  a 
view  of  the  singular-looking  machine  and  its  long  train 
of  cars ;  after  causing  thus  innumerable  capsizes  and 
smash-ups  of  the  vehicles  and  the  tumbling  of  the 
spectators  in  every  direction  to  the  right  and  left) 
arrived  at  the  head  of  the  inclined  plane  at  Schenecta- 
dy, amid  the  cheers  and  welcomes  of  thousands,  assem- 
bled to  witness  the  arrival  of  the  iron  horse  and  its 
living  freight. 

After  some  time  passed  in  the  ancient  city  of  Sche- 
nectady, and  ample  refreshments  had  been  afforded,  the 
word  was  given  by  conductor  Clark  to  prepare  for  the 
return.  The  excursionists  resumed  their  seats,  and  in 
due  time,  without  any  accident  or  delay,  the  train  arrived 
at  the  point  from  which  it  had  first  started,  the  head  of 
the  inclined  plane  at  Albany.  The  passengers  were 
pleased  with  the  adventures  of  the  day,  and  no  rueful 
countenances  were  to  be  seen,  excepting  occasionally 
when  one  encountered  in  his  walks  in  the  city  a  former 
driver  of  the  horse-cars,  who  saw  that  the  grave  had 
that  day  been  dug,  and  the  end  of  horse-power  was  at 
hand. 

After  the  return  to  Albany,  the  author  made  a 
clean  copy  from  his  rough  sketch  of  the  engine  "  De 
"Witt  Clinton,"  and  also  the  likeness  of  the  engineer  of 


THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVE  AND  TRAIN  OF  PASSENGER-CARS  EVER  RUN  IN  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  American  Locomotive  "  De  ^Titt  Clinton,"  Mr.  David  Matthew,  Engineer. 


'Hi.-  I.., Hi,-  -  I)-  \V, 


•  taken— forty  yen 


~illsiiss3  ||mHRRC||  k^^^Iniiiv^ 


I         ..,:-„!.■  .,..,|-  , 


in  M-n,].  I-;.,,.  M,j,„  \I,  ,...,, ,1,1  H:iv-.  Hi._,l.-l\,.,-t  ,1.1.-  ,.i    N'.-i,  V,.rk,  \I-    On  Mi'v,  Jos.  Alexander,  of  tli 
■  lln-  ili-iv.-rs  iili.n  lli „.  I,  „l  l„,„  drawn  by  liorsc-powcr,  bin  on  lln-  o,-.  -i-iun  in-re  occupied  by  til 


FIRST   LOCOMOTIVE   IN  NEW  YORK.  175 

the  day,  Mr.  David  Matthew,  wlio  controlled  its  move- 
ments on  this  memorable  first  occasion.  As  the  tin 
horn  sounded  the  signal  for  starting,  just  as  the  author 
had  sketched  the  shape  of  the  first  of  the  passenger-cars 
in  the  train,  he  supplied  the  place  of  passengers  with 
the  likeness  of  several  of  the  old  citizens  of  Albany. 
Hence  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Thurlow  Weed,  ex-Gov- 
ernor Yates,  and  others,  as  named  in  the  article  from  the 
Boston  Advertiser.  This  original  picture,  as  we  have 
before  stated,  was  presented  to  the  Connecticut  Histor- 
ical Society  by  the  author.  It  has  since  been  photo- 
graphed by  J.  L.  Howard  &  Company,  of  Hartford,  and 
from  this  photograph  the  copy  in  lithograph  by  Sage  & 
Son  was  taken;  but  the  engine  is  there  erroneously 
called  an  English  machine,  the  "  John  Bull,"  and  John 
Hampson,  an  Englishman,  is  said  to  have  been  the 
engineer.  A  second  copy  of  this  sketch,  calculated  to 
mislead  the  public,  has  just  been  circulated  by  a  firm 
in  Boston,  called  the  Antique  Publishing  Company,  75 
Haverhill  Street,  and  copyrighted  in  1870.  This 
picture,  like  the  one  by  Sage  &  Son,  is  taken  from  the 
same  photograph  of  the  author's  original  sketch  in  the 
Hartford  Institute,  and  in  its  history,  like  the  other, 
purports  to  be  a  likeness  of  the  English  locomotive 
"  John  Bull,"  and  an  Englishman,  John  Hampson,  the 
engineer.  In  this  volume  we  shall  furnish  the  evidence 
to  show  that  the  original  picture  in  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society  Booms  was  a  time  representation  of 
the  American  locomotive  "  De  Witt  Clinton,"  the  third 
American  locomotive  built  for  actual  service,  and  the 
first  American-built  locomotive  run  in  the  State  of 
New  York;  Sage  &  Son,  and  the  Boston  Antique 
Publishing  Company,  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 


176  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

CHAPTEE    XXXIV. 

FURTHER    EVIDENCES. 

The  following  letter  is  from  Mr.  David  Matthew. 
It  is  further  evidence  that  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton,"  and 
not  an  English  engine,  was  the  first  one  to  run  on  the 
road  from  Albany  to  Schenectady,  in  August,  1831 : 

"  Philadelphia,  February  13,  I860. 
"William  H.  Beown,  Esq. — 

"Deae  Sie:  Yours  of  January  17th  is  at  hand.  Having 
been  absent,  my  reply  has  been  delayed  until  this  date.  I  will  en- 
deavor to  answer  your  several  questions  as  correctly  as  I  possibly 
can,  in  the  absence  of  records. 

"  First.  I  did  run  the  '  De  Witt  Clinton,'  on  the  9th  day  of 
August,  1831,  and  every  day  that  it  run  from  the  2d  day  of  July, 
when  first  put  on  the  road,  to  December  1,  1831. 

"  Second.  There  was  no  English-built  engine  upon  the  road, 
until  the  '  Robert  Fulton,'  made  by  Stephenson,  arrived,  which 
was  about  the  last  of  August.  About  the  middle  of  September  it 
was  tried  on  the  road,  and  commenced  regular  trips  soon  after. 
On  the  excursion-trip  in  September,  the  Fulton  was  assigned  to 
haul  the  train,  but  something  got  wrong  about  the  supply-pipe, 
and  my  engine,  the  'De  Witt  Clinton,'  was  called  out  for  that  duty, 
4  and  did  it  well. 

"Third.  I  did  know  John  Hampson  and  Adam  Robinson. 
John  Hampson  was  my  assistant.  He  left  West  Point  Foundery 
with  me,  and  when  the  '  Robert  Fulton  '  arrived  and  was  placed  on 
the  road,  he  took  her  to  run.  Adam  Robinson  became  my  fireman 
on  the  '  De  Witt  Clinton'  when  we  began  to  make  regular  trips. 

"When  the  'John  Bull'  came  out,  nearly  a  year  afterward, 
John  Hampson  took  her  to  run.  Both  of  these  men  are  now  dead. 
John  Hampson  left  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad  early  in 
1832.  He  brought  the  second  engine  from  New  York  that  was 
run  on  the  Germantown  and  Philadelphia  Railroad.  He  next  took 
the  '  Davy  Crocket '  to  the  Saratoga  Railroad ;  then  took  charge 
of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  machine-shops  at  Borden- 


FURTHER  EVIDENCES.  177 

town.  Thence  he  went  to  the  New  Orleans  and  Carrollton  Rail- 
road, on  a  salary  of  five  thousand  dollars  per  year,  where  he  re- 
mained several  years. 

"  Adam  Robinson  was  killed  by  accident  on  a  railroad. 

"  Will  you  please  procure  and  send  to  me  one  of  the  drawings, 
or  photographs,  from  the  original  picture  you  took  in  Albany,  of 
the  old  '  De  Witt  Clinton '  and  train  of  cars  ?  I  saw  the  original 
picture  at  your  room  in  Albany,  and  was  forcibly  struck  by  the 
accuracy  of  your  likeness  to  the  old  machine,  the  cars,  and  the  pas- 
sengers, several  of  whom  I  knew  well. 

"  If  I  can  give  you  any  other  information,  write  to  me  at  once, 
and  I  will  try  to  be  more  prompt  in  my  reply. 
"  Respectfully  yours, 

"  David  Matthew, 

"  205  Pear  Street,  Philadelphia." 

From  the  freight-bills,  custoni-house  charges,  etc., 
etc.,  attached  by  Sage  &  Son  to  their  lithograph  copy  of 
a  photograph  of  the  original  picture  in  the  Hartford 
Institute,  the  author  is  inclined  to  believe  that  these  refer 
to  those  made  upon  the  first  English  locomotive  for  the 
Mohawk  and  Hudson  Kailroad,  which  was  the  "  Eobert 
Fulton."  This  machine,  as  we  see  in  the  following 
articles  from  the  Albany  Argus  of  that  period,  arrived 
by  the  ship  Mary  Howland,  from  Liverpool,  early  in 
September,  1831.  In  several  articles  of  the  Argus,  in 
which  this  engine  is  spoken  of,  it  is  called  the  "  John 
Bull."  This  was  done  in  allusion  to  the  country  where 
it  was  made,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Argus  also  uses 
the  words  "  Brother  Jonathan  "  when  speaking  of  the 
"  De  Witt  Clinton."  These  sobriquets  are  familiarly  ap- 
plied and  understood  by  every  one  when  speaking  of  the 
natives  of  either  country. 

A  locomotive  named  the  "  John  Bull "  came  from 
England,  subsequently,  but  not  for  nearly  a  year  after 
the  events  we  are  now  recording. 

Messrs.  Sage  &  Son  give  the  following  as  the  costs 


178  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

and  charges  as  per  invoice  of  locomotive-engine,  per  ship 
Mary  Howland,  from  Liverpool,  $3,763.67.  Custom 
fees,  $1,017.25.  Freight-bills,  September  18,  1831, 
$88.67. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Albany  Argus  will 
clearly  show  that  the  West  Point  Foundery  engine  was 
the  first  to  run  upon  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Eailroad, 
and  that  no  English  locomotive  was  in  existence  upon 
that  road  until  the  "  Eobert  Fulton,"  built  by  Stephen- 
son, arrived  about  the  last  of  August,  and  was  put  on 
the  road  the  16th  or  17th  of  September  after: 

{From  the  Albany  Argus,  July  25,  1831.) 

"  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad. — We  travelled  over  part  of 
this  road  on  Saturday,  which  is  ready  to  receive  the  cars  on  Mon- 
day next,  the  1st  of  August,  if  not  earlier.  The  road  will  be  open 
from  the  head  of  Lydius  Street  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  at  Schenec- 
tady, a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles  and  a  half,  and  travelling 
"upon  it  will  be  forthwith  commenced.  "We  learn  that  the  company 
have  decided  on  using  steam-power  alone.  The  company  will 
begin  their  operations  with  an  engine  from  the  West  Point 
Foundery,  which  we  understand  will  be  placed  on  the  road  for 
service  on  Wednesday,  the  27th,  being  precisely  twelve  months 
from  the  day  the  ceremony  of  breaking  ground  was  performed 
last  year. 

"  In  less  than  a  month  the  company  expect  from  England  one 
of  Mr.  Stephenson's  engines,  similar  to  those  now  in  use  on  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway. 

"  The  work,  we  have  no  doubt,  will  do  credit  to  the  skill  of  the 
engineer,  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq." 

"  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad. — On  Saturday  this  work 
was  completed  and  prepared  for  the  passage  of  the  cars.  On  that 
day  an  experiment  was  made  with  the  locomotive  '  De  Witt  Clin- 
ton,' from  the  West  Point  Foundery,  but,  owing  to  some  defect  in 
the  ignition  of  the  Lackawanna  coal,  the  speed  did  not  at  any  time 
exceed  six  or  seven  miles  an  hour.  On  Saturday  next,  if  the 
weather  is  favorable,  the  company  propose  to  celebrate  the  com- 
pletion of  the  work,  so  far,  by  inviting  our  citizens  to  a  ride 
through  the  entire  line." 


FURTHER   EVIDENCES.  179 

{From  the  Albany  Argus,  August  11,  1831.) 
"  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad., — On  Monday,  August  9, 
1831,  the  'De  Witt  Clinton,'  attached  to  a  train  of  cars,  passed 
over  the  road  from  plane  to  plane,  to  the  delight  of  a  large  crowd 
assembled  to  witness  the  performance.  The  engine  performed 
the  entire  route  in  less  than  one  hour,  including  stoppages,  and  on 
a  part  of  the  road  its  speed  was  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  an 
hour." 

{From  the  Albany  Argus,  August  27,  1831.) 
Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad. — The   company   having 
received  their  locomotive  from  England  by  the  Mary  Howland,  it 
will,  we  understand,  be  in  operation  on  the  road  in  the  course  of 
a  few  days.     It  is  called  the  '  Robert  Fulton.'  " 

{From  the  Albany  Argus,  September  3,  1831.) 
"  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad. — Another  trial  was  made 
on  Thursday  with  the  locomotive  '  De  Witt  Clinton.'  It  performed 
the  passage  from  Schenectady  to  this  city  in  fifty  minutes. 
Among  the  passengers  was  Brigadier-General  Scott,  of  the  United 
States  Army." 

{From  the  Albany  Argus,  September  9,  1831.) 
"  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad. — The  American  locomotive 
'De  Witt  Clinton'  came  down  yesterday  morning  in  forty-six 
minutes.  The  fuel  was  wood.  A  trial  of  the  English  locomotive 
will  probably  be  made  on  Tuesday  next.  The  power  and  weight 
of  this  engine  are  double  those  of  the  American  engine." 

{From  the  Albany  Argus,  September  19,  1831.) 
"  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad. — Trials  of  the  English  loco- 
motive were  made  on  the  16th  and  17th.  They  were,  we  under- 
stand, entirely  successful,  and  particularly  so  with  the  use  of 
anthracite  coal.  The  engine  was  propelled  with  ease  at  the  rate 
of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  an  hour,  and  will  commence  her 
regular  trips  this  day." 

The  next  we  hear  of  the  English  locomotive,  after 
the  foregoing  experiments,  relates  to  transactions  of 
the  following  week.  The  author  was  present,  and  re- 
members well  every  incident  on  that  interesting  occa- 


130         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN   AMERICA. 

sion,  as  they  are  recorded  in  the  Argus,  and,  had  the 
English  machine  performed  the  duty  which  was  as- 
signed to  her  on  that  clay,  there  is  no  doubt  a  sketch 
of  her  appearance  would  have  found  a  place  in  our 
present  volume.  But  the  author  did  not  "  see  it."  The 
Albany  Argus,  September  26,  1831,  says: 

"Railkoad  Excursion. — On  Saturday,  September  24th,  a 
numerous  company,  at  the  request  of  the  president  and  directors 
of  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad  Company,  enjoyed  a 
very  gratifying  ride  upon  the  road.  The  company  consisted  of 
the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  members  of  the  Senate,  no-w- 
in session  as  a  Court  of  Errors,  our  Senators  in  Congress,  the  Chan- 
cellor and  Judges  of  the  Supreme  and  District  Courts,  State 
officers,  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Assistants  and  members 
of  the  Common  Council  of  the  city  of  New  York,  the  Mayor, 
Recorder,  and  corporation  of  the  city,  and  several  citizens  of 
New  York,  Albany,  and  Schenectady. 

"  Owing  to  a  defect  in  one  of  the  supply-pipes  of  the  English 
locomotive,  that  powerful  engine  was  not  brought  into  service, 
and  the  party,  having  been  delayed  in  consequence,  did  not  leave 
the  head  of  Lydius  Street  until  nearly  twelve  o'clock.  They  then 
started  with  a  train  of  ten  cars,  three  drawn  by  the  American 
locomotive  '  De  Witt  Clinton,'  and  seven  by  a  single  horse  each. 
The  appearance  of  this  fine  cavalcade,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  was 
highly  imposing.  The  trip  was  performed  by  the  locomotive  in 
forty-six  minutes,  and  by  the  cars  drawn  by  horses  in  about  an 
hour  and  a  quarter.  From  the  head  of  the  plane,  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  Schenectady,  the  company  were  conveyed  in  car- 
riages to  Davis's  Hotel,  where  they  were  joined  by  several  citizens 
of  Schenectady,  and  partook  of  a  dinner  that  reflected  credit  upon 
the  proprietor  of  that  well-known  establishment.  Among  the 
toasts  offered  was  one  which  has  been  verified  to  the  letter,  viz. : 
'  The  Buffalo  Railroad — may  we  soon  breakfast  in  Utica,  dine  in 
Rochester,  and  sup  with  our  friends  on  Lake  Erie  ! '  After  dinner 
the  company  repaired  to  the  head  of  the  plane,  and  resumed  their 
seats  for  the  return  to  Albany.  It  was  an  imposing  spectacle. 
It  was  a  practical  illustration  of  the  great  preference  of  this  mode 
of  travel  and  conveyance.  The  American  locomotive  started  with 
a  train  of  five  cars,  containing  nineteen  or  twenty  persons  each, 


FURTHER  EVIDENCES.  }c>l 

besides  the  tender,  and  never  did  '  Brother  Jonathan,'  as  it  was 
familiarly  called,  perform  the  trip  in  more  beautiful  style.  It 
came  down  with  its  train  in  thirty-eight  minutes,  being  at  the  rate 
of  nineteen  miles  an  hour,  the  last  six  miles  were  performed  in 
fourteen  minutes.  The  cavalcade  with  horses  came  down  in  sixty- 
eight  minutes. 

" 'Brother  Jonathan,'  as  it  is  familiarly  called,  is  as  yet  decid- 
edly in  advance  of '  John  Bull.'  " 

We  give  the  foregoing  extracts  from  the  Argus 
merely  to  prove  more  conclusively  that  the  "  De  Witt 
Clinton  "  was  the  locomotive  sketched  by  the  author  on 
the  9th  day  of  August,  and  not  an  English  engine,  as 
some  parties  have  represented.  On  neither  of  these  ex- 
cursions was  the  Enodish  locomotive  in  use.  On  the  ex- 
cursion  of  the  9th  of  August  the  English  engine  had 
not  yet  arrived,  and  on  the  excursion  of  the  24th  of 
September  her  supply-pipe  was  not  in  order,  and  the 
American  locomotive  "De  Witt  Clinton"  performed 
the  duty  successfully,  as  is  recorded  in  the  Albany 
Argus  just  quoted.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the 
excursion  on  the  9th  day  of  August,  1831,  with  the  "De 
Witt  Clinton,"  as  mentioned  in  the  article  in  the 
Albany  Argus  of  August  11th,  that  the  author  made 
the  sketch  of  the  locomotive,  the  engineer,  the  tender, 
coaches,  and  passengers  in  the  train,  which  was  exhibit- 
ed at  his  studio,  and  attracted  great  crowds  for  several 
weeks  during  his  professional  sojourn  in  Albany.  This 
picture  the  author  soon  after  presented  to  the  Connecti- 
cut Historical  Society,  where  it  may  be  seen  at  the 
present  time.  In  1858  or  '59  this  original  picture  was 
photographed  by  J.  L.  Howard  &  Company,  of  Hart- 
ford, and  a  copy  obtained  by  the  author. 


182         HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

THE     JUDGE'S     FIRST     RIDE. 

Since  this  photograph  has  been  in  the  possession  of 
the  author,  he  has  been  often  asked  why  the  engine  and 
train  are  represented  in  the  unique  and  sombre  style  in 
which  they  appear  in  profile,  or  black  outline.  To 
this  inquiry  he  will  reply  by  informing  those  who  are 
not  familiar  with  the  facts,  that,  from  his  earliest  recol- 
lection, he  has  been  gifted  with  a  rare  and  peculiar 
talent  or  faculty  (entirely  intuitive  in  him)  of  executing 
with  wonderful  facility  and  accuracy  the  outlines  or 
form  of  any  person  or  object  from  a  single  glance  of  the 
eye,  and  without  any  machinery  whatever,  but  with  a 
pair  of  common  scissors  and  a  piece  of  black  paper. 

This  peculiar  style  of  outline  portraiture,  or  shaping 
exact  resemblances  of  persons  or  objects  with  black 
paper,  and  commonly  known  as  profiles,  was  invented, 
according  to  the  elder  Disraeli,  in  1757,  in  Paris,  and 
called  by  the  French  silhouette.  In  the  author  this 
faculty  was  not  confined  to  shaping  the  mere  outlines  of 
persons  or  faces,  but  was  extended  to  portraying  entire 
family  groups,  military  companies,  fire  companies  with 
their  engines  and  hose-carriages,  sporting-scenes,  race- 
courses, and  marine  views,  representing  a  harbor  and 
shipping.  All  were  executed  in  black  paper,  and  with  a 
pair  of  scissors.  Hence,  in  the  same  style  he  executed  the 
above-mentioned  likeness  of  the  locomotive  "De  Witt 
Clinton,"  with  the  cars  and  passengers,  and  afterward 
presented  the  same  to  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society. 
This  rare  and  peculiar  faculty  or  gift  was  so  strongly 
developed  in  the  author,  that  all  objects,  when  once 


THE  JUDGE'S  FIRST  RIDE.  183 

presented  to  the  eye,  are,  as  it  were,  photographed  upon 
his  brain,  so  much  so,  and  with  such  indelibility,  that 
it  was  not  actually  necessary  for  an  individual  to  be 
present  and  stand  for  a  likeness.  A  glance  for  a  mo- 
ment at  an  individual  in  some  accustomed  position  or 
attitude  only  was  necessary,  and  the  likeness  could  be 
produced  hours,  days,  weeks,  and  often  years  thereafter, 
entirely  from  memory  alone. 

The  author,  for  several  years,  made  a  very  lucrative 
business  by  the  exercise  of  this  peculiar  faculty  of 
taking  likenesses,  and  during  that  time  visited  all  the 
principal  cities  of  the  country.  His  first  object  on  visit- 
ing a  new  field  for  the  exercise  of  his  art  was  to  notice 
several  prominent  and  well-known  citizens  as  they 
walked  upon  the  streets,  and  place  their  likenesses  most 
accurately  upon  paper  as  evidences  of  his  skill  in  this 
peculiar  art  and  his  wonderful  memory  of  persons  and 
forms. 

It  so  happened  that,  on  one  of  the  author's  profes- 
sional visits  to  the  city  of  Albany,  that  a  trip,  which 
was  then  supposed  to  be  the  first  train  of  cars  drawn 
by  a  locomotive  in  America,  was  run  upon  the  Mo- 
hawk and  Hudson  Kailroad.  A  graphic  and  particular 
description  of  this  same  first  trip  is  given  in  a  letter 
from  a  well-known  and  distinguished  gentleman,  now 
over  eighty  years  of  age,  who  is  one  of  the  few  sur- 
vivors.    The  letter  is  as  follows  : 

"  Ridge-way,  Pa.,  June  24,  18 TO. 
"  William  H.  Browst,  Esq. — 

"Dear  Sir:  Tour  note  of  the  21st  inst.,  asking  for  my  rec- 
ollections of  such  incidents  as  impressed  themselves  on  my  mind 
in  the  ever-memorable  first  trip  by  locomotive-power  from  Albany 
to  Schenectady  in  1831,  is  before  me.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
month  of  August  of  that  year  I  left  Philadelphia  for  Canandaigua, 


184:        HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

New  York,  travelling  by  stages  and  steamboats  by  way  of  New 
York  to  Albany.  Stopping  at  the  latter  place  with  my  friend 
J.  M.  Hughes,  now  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  I  learned  that  a  locomotive 
had  arrived  there,  and  that  it  would  make  its  first  trip  over  the 
road  to  Schenectady  the  next  day.  I  concluded  to  He  over  and 
gratify  my  curiosity  with  a  first  ride  after  a  locomotive. 

"That  locomotive,  the  train  of  cars,  together  with  the  incidents 
of  the  day,  made  a  very  vivid  impression  on  my  mind.  I  can  now 
look  back  from  one  of  Pullman's  palace-cars,  over  a  period  of  forty 
years,  and  see  that  train,  together  with  all  the  improvements  that 
have  been  made  in  railroad  travel  since  that  time,  for  I  have  been 
a  constant  traveller  for  over  half  a  century,  and  have  observed  the 
steady  and  constant  progression,  in  motive-power  and  railroad 
facilities  up  to  the  present  time.  And  now,  taking  1870  as  a  stand- 
point, looking  back  and  forward  forty  years,  who  can  say  that  the 
next  forty  years  will  not  exceed  the  past  in  railroad  intercommuni- 
cation, and  that  Dr.  Kramer's  theory  of  using  compressed  air  as 
a  motive  power  may  not,  ere  that,  be  brought  into  general  use, 
and  that  the  engineer  will  manage  his  whole  train  with  the  same 
facility  and  ease  that  the  Mexican  caballero  starts,  runs,  and  stops 
his  horse  ? 

"  I  am  not  machinist  enough  to  give  a  description  of  the  loco- 
motive that  drew  us  over  the  road  that  day,  but  recollect  distinct- 
ly the  general  '  make-up '  of  the  train.  The  sketch  you  showed  me 
when  I  was  last  at  your  place,  taken  by  you  in  your  peculiar  style, 
is  very  correct,  and  brings  to  my  mind,  as  vividly  as  though  only 
seen  yesterday,  the  engine  and  train  as  it  appeared  on  that  never- 
to-be-forgotten  occasion. 

"  The  train  was  composed  of  coach-bodies,  mostly  from  Thorpe 
&  Sprague's  stage-coaches,  placed  upon  trucks.  The  trucks  were 
coupled  together  with  chains  or  chain-links,  leaving  from  two  to 
three  feet  slack,  and  when  the  locomotive  started  it  took  up  the 
slack  by  jerks,  with  sufficient  force  to  jerk  the  passengers,  who  sat 
on  seats  across  the  top  of  the  coaches,  out  from  under  their  hats, 
and  in  stopping  they  came  together  with  such  force  as  to  send 
them  flying  from  their  seats. 

"  They  used  dry  pitch-pine  for  fuel,  and,  there  being  no  smoke 
or  spark-catcher  to  the  chimney  or  smoke-stack,  a  volume  of  black 
smoke,  strongly  impregnated  with  sparks,  coals,  and  cinders,  came 
pouring  back  the  whole  length  of  the  train.  Each  of  the  outside 
passengers  who  had  an  umbrella  raised  it  as  a  protection  against 


THE   JUDGE'S  FIRST   RIDE.  185 

the  smoke  and  fire.  They  were  found  to  be  but  a  momentary  pro- 
tection, for  I  think  in  the  first  mile  the  last  one  went  overboard, 
all  having  their  covers  burnt  off  from  the  frames,  when  a  general 
mM'ee  took  place  among  the  deck-passengers,  each  whipping  his 
neighbor  to  put  out  the  fire.  They  presented  a  very  motley  ap- 
pearance on  arriving  at  the  first  station..  There  rails  were  pro- 
cured and  lashed  between  the  trucks,  taking  the  slack  out  of  the 
coupling-chains,  thereby  affording  us  a  more  steady  run  to  the  top 
of  the  inclined  plane  at  Schenectady. 

"  The  incidents  off  the  train  were  quite  as  striking  as  those  on 
the  train.  A  general  notice  having  been  given  of  the  contem- 
plated trip,  excited  not  only  the  curiosity  of  those  living  along  the 
line  of  the  road,  but  those  living  remote  from  it,  causing  a  large 
collection  of  people  at  all  the  intersecting  roads  along  the  line  of 
the  route.  Everybody,  together  with  his  wife  and  all  his  children, 
came  from  a  distance  with  all  kinds  of  conveyances,  being  as  ig- 
norant of  what  was  coming  as  their  horses,  drove  up  to  the  road 
as  near  as  they  could  get,  only  looking  for  the  best  position  to  get 
a  view  of  the  train.  As  it  approached,  the  horses  took  fright  and 
wheeled,  upsetting  buggies,  carriages,  and  wagons,  and  leaving 
for  parts  unknown  to  the  passenger,  if  not  to  their  owners,  and  it 
is  not  now  positively  known  if  some  of  them  have  yet  stopped. 
Such  is  a  hasty  sketch  of  my  recollection  of  my  first  ride  after  a 
locomotive. 

"  Hoping  that  your  contemplated  history  of  early  locomotives 
in  America  may  be  appreciated  by  the  reading  public,  and  a  pecu- 
niary success  to  yourself, 

"  I  remain  truly  yours, 

"J.  L.  Gillis." 

The  writer  of  the  foregoing  letter,  Judge  Gillis,  is  a 
native  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  is  now  eighty 
years  of  age.  He  served  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  was 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane.  He  moved  to 
Ridgeway,  Pennsylvania,  in  1822,  then  in  Jefferson 
County,  now  the  seat  of  justice  of  Elk  County.  He  was 
an  active  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  in  the  State 
of  New  York  previous  to  his  removal  to  Pennsylvania. 
Four  years  later,  in  1826,  when  political  anti-masonry 


136         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

took  its  rise  in  that  State,  in  order  to  show  the  extent  of 
the  conspiracy  for  the  abduction  of  one  Morgan,  a  bill 
of  indictment  was  procured  against  Judge  Gillis  and 
others  at  Canandaigua.  As  soon  as  he  heard  of  such 
indictment,  he  returned  to  the  State  of  New  York  and 
surrendered  himself  to  the  court  and  was  placed  undel 
bonds  of  ten  thousand  dollars  for  his  appearance  at  the 
next  term.  He  visited  that  county  nine  terms  of  the 
court,  the  prosecutors  putting  the  case  off  at  each  term. 
Finally,  the  trial  came  off  in  1829,  and  he  was  acquitted, 
no  evidence  being  found  for  conviction.*  Judge  Gillis 
has  served  his  district  in  the  House  and  Senate  of  the 
State  Legislature  and  in  Congress.  He  was  an  active 
and  ardent  supporter  of  internal  improvement  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of  the  earliest  advocates 
of  the  construction  of  the  line  of  railroad  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Erie,  which  he  supported  until  completed. 
He  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Jefferson 
County  in  1843,  and  reappointed  in  1844  as  one  of  the 
first  Judges  of  Elk  County.  In  1862  Judge  Gillis  re- 
moved to  Mount  Pleasant,  Henry  County,  Iowa,  where 
he  now  resides. 

In  1859  the  author,  having  quitted  the  profession 
of  artist,  was  living  in  Huntingdon  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, as  an  employe  of  the  Huntingdon  and  Broad 
Top  Railroad.  Many  years  had  passed  away  since  he 
had  thought  of  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton,"  when  he  re- 
ceived from  an  unknown  hand  a  newspaper  containing 
a  paragraph  marked  with  a  pen  to  attract  his  attention. 
It  revived  in  his  memory  his  old  picture  of  the  "  De 
Witt  Clinton"  and  his  visit  to  Hartford  very  many 
years  before.     The  paragraph  was  as  follows : 

*  It  was  some  time  during  his  trips  to  attend  trial  that  Judge  Gillis  rode  in  the 
cars  after  a  locomotive. 


THE   JUDGE'S  FIRST  RIDE.  187 

"  A  Rare  Cueiositt. — We  were  this  day  shown  by  Mr.  Brad- 
ley, Secretary  of  the  Fort  "Wayne  and  Chicago  Railroad,  at  Pitts- 
burg, a  photograph  copy  of  the  first  American  locomotive  ever 
built  in  this  country  and  run  upon  a  railroad  in  the  United 
States.  The  photograph  was  made  from  the  original  picture 
now  in  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  and  was  taken  by  a 
Mr.  Brown  in  his  peculiar  style  of  art.  It  was  cut  out  of  black 
paper  with  a  pair  of  common  scissors.  In  the  cars  we  recognize 
the  likenesses  of  several  of  the  old  citizens  of  Albany,  Thurlow 
Weed,  Esq.,  ex-Governor  Meigs,  old  Hays,  of  New  York,  the 
celebrated  thief-catcher,  and  several  others.  The  picture  is  exe- 
cuted with  great  skill  and  fidelity,  and  is  a  rare  curiosity  when 
compared  with  the  locomotives  and  trains  of  the  present  day." 

The  author  then  determined  to  procure  a  copy  of 
his  old  work,  and  applied  to  Mr.  Bradley  for  informa- 
tion, which  he  obtained,  and  also  to  J.  L.  Howard,  Esq., 
of  Hartford,  from  whom  he  received  the  following 
letter : 

"Hartford,  Conn.,  May  26,  1859. 
"  William  H.  Brown-,  Esq. — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  We  have  neglected  to  answer  your  very  pleasant 
letter  of  the  5th  of  March,  not  from  any  hesitation  in  complying 
with  your  request,  which  we  are  happy  to  do,  recognizing  a  right 
in  the  grandfather  to  have  one  of  his  own  children's  children, 
but,  anticipating  an  opportunity  of  sending  it  as  far  as  Altoona 
free  of  cost,  like  the  present,  we  have  allowed  time  to  pass. 

"  Have  you  any  memorandum  of  the  precise  time  this  train 
was  run? — 1832  is  as  near  as  we  can  locate  the  time.  Please  say 
if  you  have  any  memorandum  of  the  persons  who  are  represented 
in  the  cars.  We  personally  remember  you  well,  having  had  our 
figure  cut  out  by  you  when  in  this  city. 

"  With  respect,  and  very  truly  yours, 

"  James  L.  Howard  &  Co." 

A  few  days  after  receiving  the  above  letter,  the  pic- 
ture arrived  by  Adams's  Express,  free  of  cost  and 
charges.  The  author  is  at  a  loss  how  to  describe  his 
pleasurable  feelings  of  pride  and  satisfaction  when,  after 


188         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

a  lapse  of  twenty-eight  years,  he  placed  his  eyes  upon 
this  specimen  of  his  handiwork  which  he  never  ex- 
pected to  behold  again,  rescued  as  it  was  from  almost 
absolute  forgetfulness.  Every  curve  and  angle  in  the 
outline  became  as  vivid  as  on  the  day  when  it  was  exe- 
cuted. The  likenesses  of  the  citizens  represented  in  the 
cars  were  as  fresh  in  his  memory  as  if  only  seen  the  day 
before,  and  he  was,  as  it  were,  transferred  again  to 
Albany  and  its  associations. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

LETTEES     FROM      OFFICIALS. 

Desirous  of  receiving  some  authentic  statistics  of 
this  first  locomotive,  the  author  addressed  a  letter  to 
Erastus  Corning,  Esq.,  who  was  president  of  the  road 
at  that  time,  and  the  following  answer  was  received : 

"  New  York  Central  Railroad,  President's  Office, 
"  Albany,  December  9,  1859. 

"Mr.  William  H.  Brown — 

"Dear  Sir:  Tours,  respecting  the  introduction  of  the  first 
locomotive  on  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad,  and  asking 
information  in  relation  thereto,  was  duly  received. 

"  I  referred  your  communication  to  John  T.  Clark,  Esq.,  of 
Utica,  who  was  at  the  time  resident  engineer  and  superintend- 
ent  of  transportation,  requesting  of  him  such  information  as  he 
might  be  ahle  to  furnish.  I  send  you  herewith  his  reply,  and 
by  American  and  Adams's  Express  a  photograph  copy  of  the 
sketch  in  the  Hartford  Atheneeum.  I  remember  well  your  origi- 
nal cutting  in  black  paper  of  the  first  locomotive,  the  '  De  Witt 
Clinton,'  and  her  train  of  cars.  I  was  forcibly  struck  on  viewing 
it  by  its  accurate  resemblance  to  the  engine  and  train  of  cars 
attached.  Yours  very  respectfully, 

"Erastus  Corking." 


LETTERS  FROM   OFFICIALS.  189 

The  following  is  Mr.  Clark's  reply  to  Mr.  Coming's 
letter.     It  was  forwarded  to  the  author : 

Utica,  N.  Y.,  November  21,  1859. 
"  Hon.  Erastus  Corning,  Albany — 

"My  dear  Sir:  I  received,  on  the  18th  inst.,  your  note,  with 
Mr.  Brown's  letter  to  you,  seeking  for  information  as  to  the  time 
when  the  first  experiment  was  made,  with  a  locomotive-engine,  on 
the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad,  and  other  particulars  in  re- 
lation to  the  early  history  of  the  road. 

"  Before  answering  your  letter,  I  wished  to  consult  Mr.  John 
B.  Jervis,  of  Rome,  to  procure  from  him  some  facts  in  relation  to 
details  in  the  construction  of  the  first  locomotive.  I  went  to 
Rome  on  Saturday  for  that  purpose  alone,  but,  not  finding  him  at 
home,  I  send  you  to  day  such  facts  as  I  can  gather  from  memory, 
and  some  papers  in  my  possession. 

"The  first  experiment  with  steam  upon  the  road  was  made 
with  the  locomotive  '  De  Witt  Clinton,'  in  the  latter  part  of  July, 
1831.  This  engine  was  built  at  the  West  Point  Foundery  Works, 
New  York.  A  Mr.  Matthew  had  charge  of  the  hands  fitting  up 
the  machine,  and  came  with  it  in  chai'ge  to  Albany.  This  engine 
was  contracted  for  by  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  the  chief  engineer  of 
the  road.  The  estimated  weight  of  the  '  De  Witt  Clinton '  was 
about  six  tons.  It  was  mounted  on  four  wheels,  of  about  five  feet 
diameter  each,  and  had  single  drivers.  The  hubs  and  rims  of  the 
wheels  were  of  cast-iron,  with  wrought-iron  spokes  and  tires.  I 
feel  certain  that  the  '  De  Witt  Clinton '  had  an  iron  tank  or  tender 
on  four  wheels.  The  first  locomotive-engine  which  came  from 
England,  and  was  afterward  put  on  the  road,  was  made  by  Ste- 
phenson, and  was  called  the  'Robert  Fulton.'  This  engine  was 
double  the  size  and  weight  of  the  '  De  Witt  Clinton.'  It  arrived 
about  the  latter  part  of  August,  1831,  and  was  put  on  the  road 
about  the  10th  to  the  20th  of  September  following.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  an  excursion  which  was  to  take  place  the  latter  part  of 
September,  great  preparations  were  made  for  a  large  crowd  of 
passengers,  as  the  Governor,  judges  of  the  courts,  and  members 
of  the  Legislature,  were  expected  to  participate  in  the  ride,  and 
consequently  the  most  powerful  engine,  the  '  Robert  Fulton,'  pull 
the  train.  But  it  did  not  so  happen :  something  (I  do  not  remem- 
ber now)  got  wrong  with  '  Robert  Fulton,'  and  '  De  Witt  Clinton ' 
took  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  train,  which  being  too  heavy  for 
13 


190         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

so  small  a  machine,  a  part  only  was  attached  to  the  'De  Witt 
Clinton,'  and  the  remainder  were  drawn  each  car  by  a  horse,  mak- 
ing a  very  amusing-looking  cavalcade.  I  think  '  Fulton '  would 
have  done  better  and  have  been  more  at  home  upon  the  Hudson 
River  than  on  the  stand  upon  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad. 
However,  on  that  occasion  the  little  '  De  Witt '  acquitted  herself 
well,  and  got  to  the  end  of  the  road  long  before  her  companions  by 
horse-power  arrived,  and  did  the  same  in  returning.  Mr.  Brown's 
sketch  was  taken  on  the  first  excursion  with  the  '  De  Witt  Clin- 
ton,' before  the  time  of  this  second  excursion,  and  the  arrival  in 
this  country  of  the  first  locomotive  from  England,  the  '  Fulton,'  for 
our  road.  The  second  locomotive  which  came  from  England  ar- 
rived nearly  a  year  after — perhaps  not  so  long,  but  I  remember  it 
was  late  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  This  second  engine  came  without 
a  tank  or  a  tender.  A  temporary  arrangement  was  made  for  supply- 
ing this  English  engine  with  water  by  means  of  a  cask  with  the  ca- 
pacity of  about  three  hundred  gallons,  made  in  the  usual  form  and 
manner  of  a  cask,  and  resting  on  saddles  of  wood  fastened  to  a  frame 
of  the  same  material ;  and  the  whole,  being  mounted  on  four  light 
cast-iron  wheels,  presented  a  very  novel  appearance. 

"  This  English  locomotive  was  called  the  '  John  Bull,'  and  had 
four  driving-wheels  of  four  feet  diameter.  The  hubs  and  naves 
of  the  wheels  were  made  of  cast-iron,  the  spokes  and  rim  or  felloes 
were  made  of  wood  and  secured  by  wrought-iron  flanged  tires.  It 
is,  perhaps,  needless  to  say  that  after  this  engine  was  put  in  use, 
those  parts  of  the  wheels  made  of  wood  gave  audible  complaint  of 
hard  service.  The  '  shrieking '  of  the  machine  caused  no  little 
merriment  among  the  knights  of  the  whip,  who  were  yet  reluctant 
in  believing  that  the  beautiful  tandem  teams  which  they  had  the 
honor  of  driving  formerly  over  the  road,  at  the  rate  of  twelve 
miles  an  hour,  '  could  ever  be  superseded  by  such  a  cursed-looking 
iron  concern  as  that,  as  it  was  broken-winded  already  ! ' 

"  The  first  regular  trip  for  the  public  with  a  locomotive  was  on 
the  9th  day  of  August,  1831,  with  the  'De  Witt  Clinton.'  A  few 
experiments  had  been  made  with  her  previous  to  that  date. 

"  Mr.  John  B.  Jervis  was  chief  engineer  of  the  road,  and  the 
undersigned  was  resident  engineer  and  superintendent  of  trans- 
portation ;  and  he  had  the  honor  and  satisfaction  of  receiving,  with 
his  own  hands,  the  first  fifty  cents  for  regular  established  passen- 
ger-fare ever  received  on  any  railroad  in  the  United  States,  as  he 
believes.     The  names  of  the  first  three  engine  drivers  employed  by 


LETTERS  FROM   OFFICIALS.  191 

the  company  were  David  Matthew,  who  first  run  the  '  De  Witt 
Clinton,'  John  Hampson,  and  Adam  Robinson. 

"It  has  been  said  by  some  that  the  first  locomotive-engine 
actually  run  in  this  country  in  the  transportation  of  passengers  on 
a  railroad,  was  upon  the  Charleston  Railroad,  in  South  Carolina, 
drawn  by  an  engine  called  the  '  Best  Friend,'  but  this  I  believe  is 
a  mistake.  The  fact  can  easily  be  obtained  by  Mr.  Brown  address- 
ing a  letter  to  Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  now  of  the  Novelty  "Works, 
New  York.  Mr.  Allen  was  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Charleston 
road  in  its  commencement,  and  would  know  of  this  incident. 

"  I  recollect  seeing  Mr.  Brown's  sketch  of  the  '  De  Witt  Clin- 
ton '  and  her  train  of  cars  executed  in  black  paper,  in  his  peculiar 
style,  when  he  was  in  Albany;  and  I  could  not  but  admire  the 
wonderful  correctness  of  his  likenesses  to  the  engine,  engineer,  and 
the  old  citizens  of  Albany,  who  are  represented  in  the  cars  as 
passengers. 

"  I  am  very  respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

"  John  T.  Clark,  Utica." 

We  will  now  add  the  following  letter  from  John  B. 
Jer vis,  Esq.,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  road,  showing  that 
the  sketch  of  the  engine  and  train  of  cars  which  appears 
in  onr  work  is  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton,"  an  American 
locomotive,  the  first  ever  run  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  not,  as  has  "been  represented  in  Sage  &  Son's  litho- 
graph, the  "John  Bull,"  an  English  engine  and  the 
first  attached  to  a  passenger-train  in  the  United  States, 
or  as  published  since  that  time,  by  the  Antique  Publish- 
ing Company",  of  Boston,  in  1870,  as  the  "  John  Bull." 

"Rome,  N.  Y.,  April  20,  1869. 
"William  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"Dear  Sir:  Yours  of  the  15th  inst.  was  duly  received.  I 
have  no  memoranda  to  refer  to  ;  but  my  memory  serves  me  that 
you  are  correct  in  saying  that  the  first  engine  or  locomotive  run 
upon  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad  was  named  the  '  De  Witt 
Clinton,'  and  the  date  of  the  first  trip  correct,  viz.,  the  9th  day  of 
August,  1831.  The  engine  was  built  under  a  contract  I  made  (as 
chief  engineer  of  the  road)  with  the  West  Point  Association  in 


192  HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

New- York  City.  Late  in  the  same  year,  the  English  engine  the 
'  John  Bull,'  was  imported  from  England,  for  the  same  road.  Mr. 
David  Matthew  was  the  machinist  who  put  up  the  '  De  Witt 
Clinton,'  and  run  it,  and  no  doubt  his  statements  upon  the  sub- 
ject are  reliable.  I  do  know,  positively,  that  an  American-built 
locomotive  was  put  in  successful  use  upon  a  railroad  in  this  coun- 
try prior  to  the  '  De  Witt  Clinton  ; '  my  own  impression  is  that 
there  were  two  on  the  South  Carolina  Railroad. 

"  Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"John  B.  Jervis." 


CHAPTEE    XXXVII. 

ADDITIONAL    LETTERS. 

Having  heard  a  short  time  since  from  an  old  citizen 
of  Albany,  who  knew  the  individuals  whose  likenesses 
appear  as  passengers  in  the  sketch  of  the  "De  Witt 
Clinton "  and  train,  that,  excepting  Judge  Gillis,  whose 
letter  we  have  already  given,  only  two  now  survive 
that  memorable  event,  namely,  Erastus  Corning,  Esq., 
and  Thurlow  Weed,  Esq.,  the  author  addressed  them 
upon  the  subject,  calling  their  recollections  to  his  pro- 
fessional visit  to  Albany  in  1831,  and  his  original  pro- 
file cutting  of  the  first  locomotive  and  train.  He  soon 
received  the  following  interesting  replies,  which  serve 
to  prove  the  authenticity  of  his  original  in  the  Connec- 
ticut Historical  Society : 

"  Albany,  K  T.,  May  30,  1870. 

"William  H.  Beown,  Esq. — 

"My  dear  Sir:  I  have  before  me  your  letter  of  May  19th, 
1870,  referring  to  your  proposed  '  History  of  the  Early  Locomo- 
tives of  America.' 

"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  testify  to  the  correctness  of  the 


ADDITIONAL  LETTERS.  193 

photograph  copy  of  your  original  cutting  of  the  locomotive  '  De 
"Witt  Clinton,'  and  the  train  of  cars  which  passed  over  the  Mohawk 
and  Hudson  Railroad,  I  think  in  August,  1831. 

"  I  submitted  a  letter  on  the  subject,  written  by  you,  in  the 
year  1859,  to  Mr.  John  T.  Clark,  and  sent  you  his  reply,  with  a 
photograph  copy  of  your  picture. 

"  The  likenesses  of  the  passengers  in  the  train  are  excellent,  and 
probably  the  only  collection  of  the  kind  in  existence.  Your 
forthcoming  book  will  be  a  very  interesting  one  and  a  valuable 
addition  to  railroad  literature.  I  look  for  the  appearance  of  it 
with  the  anticipation  that  it  will  be  profitable  and  instructive. 

"  Yours  very  truly, 

"  Eeastus  Corking." 

The  second  letter  was  from  Thurlow  Weed,  Esq., 
and  was  written  by  the  veteran's  daughter,  Miss  Harriet 
A.  Weed,  who  acted  as  his  amanuensis : 

"  New  York,  February  5,  1870. 
"Mr.  William  H.  Brown — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  My  father,  who  is  not  himself  able  to  write,  de- 
sires me  to  express  his  thanks  for  your  interesting  and  welcome 
letter.  He  remembers  you  as  temporarily  residing  at  Albany. 
He  also  remembers  your  peculiar  skill  in  fashioning  paper  pictures. 
Early  in  the  day  of  photographs,  a  copy  of  your  picture  was  sent 
to  us  from  Hartford.  My  father  has  often  been  applied  to  for  the 
names  of  the  passengers,  but  could  not  remember  them  all.  He 
does,  however,  remember  Lewis  Benedict,  John  Townsend,  Wil- 
liam Alexander,  John  J.  Boyd,  John  Meigs  (high  constable  of 
Albany),  John  J.  De  Graffs,  and  Hugh  Robinson,  of  Schenectady. 
He  thinks  also  that  Billy  Winne  was  one,  and  he  remembers  your 
being  there  looking  at  the  engine. 

"  The  best  likeness  we  have  of  my  deceased  brother  James  is 
from  your  sketch  of  him  as  a  member  of  the  Burgess's  Corps  of 
Albany. 

"  The  photograph  copy  of  your  Albany  and  Schenectady  Rail- 
road engine,  copied  from  the  original  in  the  Connecticut  Historical 
Society,  now  hangs  in  our  library,  looking  precisely  as  my  father 
remembers  it  while  being  fired-up  for  its  first  trip  to  Schenectady, 
thirty-eight  or  thirty-nine  (nobody  here  can  tell  whether  it  was 
in  1831  or  1832)  years  ago. 


194         HISTOEY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

"  My  father  says  that  he  shall  look  for  your  hook  with  much 
interest.     He,  too,  as  fast  as  his  impaired  health  permits,  is  putting 
his  recollections  together,  with  the  material  for  history  in  his  pos- 
session, on  paper,  with  a  view  to  publication. 
"  Truly  yours, 

"  Harriet  A.  Weed." 

Before  we  close  this  portion  of  our  evidence,  we  can- 
not refrain  from  giving  to  our  readers  a  second  letter 
from  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  who  was  chief  engineer  of 
the  road,  in  reply  to  the  author,  who  had  transmitted 
to  him  some  documents  for  his  examination.  This  let- 
ter reads  as  follows : 

"  Rome,  N".  T.,  Atigust  24,  1870. 
"  William  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"  My  dear  Sir  :  Yours  of  the  22d  inst.  came  to  hand  this 
A.  m.  I  have  been  quite  interested  in  reading  the  letters  and 
papers  you  sent  me.  The  photograph  picture  of  the  first  locomo- 
tive and  passenger-train  that  certainly  was  the  first  run  on  the 
Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad  (Schenectady  and  Albany,  now  a 
portion  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad)  is  a  good  representa- 
tion. 

"  The  engine  was  the  '  De  Witt  Clinton  '  (and  not  the  '  John 
Bull,'  as  the  newspaper  scrap  from  the  Boston  Advertiser  gives  it). 
There  can  be  no  doubt  on  this  point — engine,  tender,  and  cars,  are 
an  unequivocal  delineation. 

"  I  have  had  a  copy  of  this  picture  for  several  years. 

"  I  cannot  speak  as  to  exact  date  when  the  train  was  run,  but 
it  was  about  midsummer  of  1831. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  Mr.  Clark  is  correct  as  to  the  date  trials  were 
made,  the  latter  part  of  July.  The  excursion-train  was  most  prob- 
ably made,  as  Mr.  Clark  states,  on  August  9,  1831.  Mr.  Clark's 
account  of  the  building  of  the  engine,  at  the  shops  of  the  West 
Point  Foundery,  in  New  York,  is  correct.  I  think,  indeed  I  am 
certain,  the  English  engine  '  John  Bull '  did  not  arrive  until  the 
spring  of  1832. 

"  I  was  quite  interested  in  your  biographical  remarks,  and  hope 
the  great  labor  you  have  given  to  prepare  a  correct  history  of 
the  locomotive  may  prove  amply  remunerative.     I  shall  be  glad  to 


ADDITIONAL   LETTERS.  195 

see  your  book.  It  is  a  very  important  subject.  Great  progress  has 
been  made,  and  there  is  yet  much  to  be  done.  I  sometimes  feel  a 
desire  to  resume  attention  to  this  matter,  but  my  age  (seventy-five 
years)  admonishes  me  that  it  is  better  to  be  quiet. 

"  Very  truly  your  friend, 

"John  B.  Jeevts." 

We  will  now  add  to  our  history  of  the  early  loco- 
motives built  in  America,  by  giving  Mr.  William  Kem- 
ble's  letter  to  the  author  upon  the  subject.  Mr.  Kem- 
ble  was  superintendent  and  manager  of  the  West  Point 
Foundeiy  Works,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  from  1829 
to  1831,  and  for  many  years  after. 

"West  Point  Foundery  Office, 

"New  York,  June  12,  18*71. 
"Me.  William  H.  Beowk — 

"  Deae  Sie  :  Your  letter  informs  me  that  you  are  about  to 
publish  a  history  of  the  early  locomotives  built  in  America,  and 
ask  me  for  some  particulars  respecting  the  first  locomotives  built 
at  our  shops. 

"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure,  sir,  to  comply  with  your  wishes 
on  that  subject ;  and  I  will  commence  by  saying  that  the  first 
locomotive  ever  run  in  this  country  was  imported  from  England, 
and  was  called  the  '  Stourbridge  Lion.'  It  came  out  in  the  spi'ing 
of  1829;  was  in  charge  of  Horatio  Allen,  Esq. ;  was  landed  from 
the  ship  John  Jay  at  our  wharf  and  put  up  at  our  works.  This 
locomotive  was  for  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  and  Railroad 
Company. 

"  The  first  locomotive  ever  constructed  in  this  country  and  for 
actual  service  upon  a  railroad,  was  undoubtedly  built  at  our  works. 
It  was  contracted  for  by  Colonel  E.  L.  Miller,  of  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  for  the  South  Carolina  Railroad.  It  was  commenced 
early  in  the  summer  of  1830,  and  completed  and  sent  to  Charleston 
by  the  ship  ISTiagai-a  in  the  month  of  October  of  that  year.  This 
engine  was  called  the  '  Best  Friend.' 

"  The  second  locomotive  constructed  in  America  was  also  built 
at  our  works,  and  for  the  South  Carolina  Railroad.  This  engine 
was  contracted  for  by  Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  the  chief  engineer  of 
the  road,  and  was  built  from  drawings  sent  out  by  him. 


196  HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

"  This  locomotive  was  called  the  '  West  Point.'  It  was  finished 
and  sent  to  Charleston  by  the  ship  Lafayette,  in  February,  1831. 

"  A  third  locomotive  was  soon  after  constructed  at  our  shops. 
This  machine  was  contracted  for  by  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  chief 
engineer  of  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad,  and  was  finished 
and  forwarded  to  Albany  in  June  or  early  in  July,  1831.  This 
engine  was  called  the  '  De  Witt  Clinton.'  Mr.  David  Matthew, 
who  had  charge  of  the  hands  fitting  up  all  these  engines,  went  on 
to  Albany  with  the  '  Clinton '  to  put  it  on  the  road  and  to  run  it. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  but  that  these  locomotives, 
the  '  Best  Friend,'  the  '  West  Point,'  and  the  '  De  Witt  Clinton,' 
were  the  first  ever  built  in  America  for  actual  service  on  a  railroad. 
Prior  to  and  during  that  time,  from  1829  to  1831,  several  small  ma- 
chines for  experimental  purposes  were  built  and  tried,  but  the 
three  above  named  were  the  first  ordered  to  be  built  in  America 
for  actual  service  upon  a  railroad. 

"  Hoping  these  facts  may  be  of  service  to  you  in  your  forth- 
coming work,  I  remain,  dear  sir, 

"  Tours  respectfully 

"William  Kemble." 


CHAPTEK    XXXVIII. 

THE     AUTHOR'S     ART. 

The  following  are  a  few  of  over  a  thousand  news- 
paper comments  and  letters  upon  the  author's  skill 
in  the  various  departments  of  his  art.  They  are  given 
here  merely  as  proofs  that  our  readers  may  rely  upon 
the  accuracy  of  the  representation  of  the  "De  Witt 
Clinton  "  engine,  cars,  and  passengers  which  accompanies 
our  work,  and  appears  in  simple  black  outline. 

{From  the  Albany  Argus,  August,  1831.) 

"  Decidedly  the  best  thing  we  have  seen  for  many  a  day  we 
met  with  yesterday  in  dropping  into  the  rooms  of  Mr.  William  H. 


THE   AUTHOR'S  ART.  197 

Brown,  the  artist,  on  State  Street.  He  has  taken  some  of  the  best 
likenesses  of  a  number  of  our  citizens  in  his  peculiar  style,  namely, 
cut  out  of  black  paper  with  a  pair  of  common  scissors.  The  one 
of  our  old  and  esteemed  neighbor,  Job  Gould,  is  decidedly  the 
most  striking  picture  we  have  ever  looked  upon.  The  facility  and 
correctness  with  which  Mr.  Brown  takes  these  likenesses  are  really 
astonishing. 

"  We  recognized  also,  at  a  single  glance,  others  as  natural  as 
life  itself.  For  instance,  the  venerable  penny  postman,  Billy 
Winne,  Jerry  Jewell,  Mr.  Alexander,  little  Chapman,  the  dwarf, 
Mr.  Carter,  of  the  Clinton,  John  J.  Quackenboss,  ex-Governor 
Meigs,  Thurlow  Weed,  General  Root,  Mr.  Phelps,  Mr.  Van  Zant, 
and  a  host  of  others,  and,  what  is  the  most  astonishing  feature 
about  them,  they  were  all  taken  from  memory.  These  individuals 
were  pointed  out  to  Mr.  Brown  upon  the  street  as  well-known 
characters  in  our  city,  and,  after  several  hours,  were  transferred 
by  his  magic  scissors  upon  paper,  if  not  quite  as  large  as  life,  at 
least  twice  as  natural." 

{From  the  Albany  Evening  Journal.) 

"  Our  friend  Mr.  William  H.  Brown,  the  inimitable  artist,  has 
fairly  taken  the  patronage  of  our  citizens  by  storm.  From  morn 
to  night  his  rooms  are  besieged  by  anxious  applicants,  awaiting 
their  chance  for  the  operation  of  his  magic  scissors.  For  every 
one  accommodated,  three  stand  ready  as  successors.  We  are  grati- 
fied at  the  result  of  Mr.  Brown's  visit  among  us,  not  more  for  the 
encouragement  extended  to  superlative  skill  than  the  satisfaction 
of  witnessing  individual  worth  so  highly  appreciated.  He  has  re- 
cently taken  in  one  large  picture  the  entire  Burgess's  Corps,  with 
staff  and  band  in  full  parade,  in  which  the  likeness  of  each  individ- 
ual member  is  presented  with  an  accuracy  truly  surprising,  and 
stamps  Mr.  Brown  as  a  perfect  master  of  his  profession.  Those 
who  have  not  seen  his  portraitures  should  embrace  the  earliest  op- 
portunity, as  he  remains,  we  regret  to  say,  but  one  week  longer, 
his  departure  for  that  time  being  deferred  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
the  likenesses  of  Engine  Company  No.  2.  The  courteous  and 
cheerful  deportment  of  Mr.  Brown  toward  his  visitors  renders  a 
visit  to  his  rooms  most  agreeable  and  instructive." 

{From  tlie  St.  Louis  Bulletin.) 
"Great  Doings  at   Brown's. — This   wonderful   artist — yes, 
we  will  out  with  it — the  immortal  Brown — has  just  completed  the 


198         HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

most  splendid  thing  in  his  line  that  was  ever  seen  in  this  city.  It 
is  nothing  less  than  a  profile  likeness  of  the  St.  Louis  engine,  the 
two  hose-carriages,  and  sixty-five  members  of  that  valiant  and  in- 
vincible corps.  The  members  are  all  in  the  uniform  of  the  com- 
pany, forty  attached  to  the  drag-ropes  of  the  engine,  thirteen  to 
the  ropes  of  one  hose-carriage  and  twelve  to  the  other.  We  will 
take  the  liberty  of  styling  it  a  panoramic  view  of  the  St.  Louis 
Fire  Company,  and  we  are  compelled  to  say  that  in  this  kind  of 
panorama  all  other  artists  must  bow  in  humble  submission  before 
the  scissors  and  the  skill  of  the  unequalled  Brown.  This  method 
of  styling  it  will  not  be  deemed  inappropriate  when  we  tell  you 
that  the  whole  picture  occupies  .a  space  of  twenty-five  feet  in 
length.  The  representation  of  the  engine  is  beautiful  indeed,  and 
true  to  the  very  letter,  and  is  all  the  work  of  a  pair  of  small 
scissors  and  black  paper.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  artist's  room 
may  be  seen  another  specimen  of  his  skill  in  a  second  picture  of 
the  same  kind,  representing  the  Missouri  Fire  Company,  with  her 
engine,  hose-carriage,  and  tender,  with  fifty-nine  men  in  all.  The 
company  are  represented  in  their  winter  costume  as  returning  from 
a  fire  or  drill,  the  whole  picture  presenting  a  fine  and  novel  ap- 
pearance, and  are  perfect  and  characteristic  likenesses.  The  two 
pictures  are  intended  as  decorations  for  their  several  engine- 
houses." 

"Armory  Natchez  Fencibles. 

"  At  a  called  meeting  of  the  Natchez  Fencibles,  held  at  their 
armory  on  Thursday  evening,  June  13,  1844,  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  unanimously  adopted : 

"  1.  Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  company  be  tendered  to 
Mr.  William  H.  Brown  for  the  admirable  picture  of  this  corps, 
just  completed  by  him,  which,  in  all  its  details,  fully  sustains  the 
high  artistical  reputation  of  Mr.  Brown,  and  has  won  the  undivided 
admiration  of  the  members  of  the  Natchez  Fencibles. 

"  2.  Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  resolution  be  published  in 
the  Daily  Courier. 

"Levi  S.  Harrisox, 

"  Secretary  Natchez  Fencibles.'''' 

"  Washington,  September  20,  1843 
"  William  H.  Browk,  Esq. — 

"My  dear  Sir:  Yours,  postmarked  Philadelphia,  1st  Sep- 
tember, addressed  to  me  at  Accomac  Court-House,  Virginia,  I 


THE   AUTHOE'S  ART.  199 

found  on  my  arrival  here  last  evening.  I  am  under  very  many 
obligations  to  you  for  not  publishing  or  printing  the  letter  referred 
to  by  you  without  giving  me  the  opportunity  which  you  have  so 
kindly  done  to  correct  its  many  imperfections.  I  do  not  desire 
it  to-be  published  while  it  contains  a  single  hard  word  or  thought 
of  any  human  being.  I  never  have  deliberately  and  wantonly 
wounded  a  fellow-being,  though  I  have  often  done  so,  sometimes 
from  a  sense  of  duty  and  sometimes  impetuously.  Even  if  I  were 
inclined  to  lash  any  one  for  '  lashing's '  sake,  I  do  not  think  your 
intended  volume  would  be  the  proper  place  for  it.  I  do  not  prize 
my  fame  for  the  faculty  of  saying  severe  things  very  highly;  and 
he  who  is  gifted  with  the  power  and  constrained  by  the  necessity 
of  saying  harsh  things,  or  even  of  speaking  out  his  mind  and  feel- 
ings strongly,  however  honestly,  in  this  world,  is  not  apt  to  be 
blessed  with  the  mild  judgments  of  men  himself.  I  trust  now  that, 
having  passed  the  profile  stage  of  life,  and  got  into  the  author's 
line,  you  can  look  at  the  world  full-face.  I  have  often  seen  and 
admired  your  productions  and  the  wonderful  faculty  of  fixing  the 
resemblance  of  men  on  paper  with  the  aid  of  your  scissors  and 
black  paper  only.  I  have  never  failed  to  recognize  a  striking 
likeness  to  the  original  in  all  I  have  seen  even  of  the  most  casual 
acquaintance. 

"  With  thanks  for  your  kindness,  and  the  flattering  notice  you 
propose  to  take  of  my  humble  self,  I  am, 

"  Gratefully  yours, 

"Henry  A.  Wise." 

"  Lindenwald,  September  6,  1843. 

"  William  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  It  affords  me  much  satisfaction  to  embrace  the 
opportunity  you  have  presented  me,  to  express  the  very  favorable 
*  opinion  I  entertain  of  your  skill  in  your  peculiar  style  of  profile 
cutting  ;  and  with  my  best  wishes  for  your  success  in  your  forth- 
coming work.*  Very  truly  yours, 

"M.  Van  Buren." 

"  Washington,  January  12,  1845. 
"William  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  I  take  pleasure  in  bearing  testimony  to  your 
great  aptitude  in  taking  likenesses  in  your  way,  and  the  fidelity 
with  which  they  are  executed.     I  wish  you  great  success  in  the 

*  "  National  Portrait  Gallery." 


200         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

work  you  are  about  to  publish,  and  do  not  doubt  but  that  you  will 
make  it  worthy  of  public  patronage.     With  great  respect, 

"I  am,  etc., 

"  J.  C.  Calhoun." 

"Washington  City,  January  13,  1843. 

"  William  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"  My  dear  Sir  :  Your  favor  of  the  3d  instant  is  before  me, 
and  in  reply  I  will  say  that  the  likenesses  of  the  members  of  Con- 
gress and  other  public  men  of  the  times,  taken  by  you  in  your 
peculiar  and  characteristic  style,  are  remarkably  correct,  and 
easily  recognized  at  a  glance. 

"  My  friends  unite  in  saying  that  the  one  you  took  of  myself  is 
a  striking  likeness.  I  cannot,  however,  see  its  resemblance  to  the 
original  as  I  do  in  all  the  others.  It  is  an  old  and  very  true  say- 
ing, '  that  if  we  could  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us,'  etc. 

"I  wish  you  great  success  in  your  contemplated  work.  It 
cannot  otherwise  than  prove  acceptable  to  the  public,  who  feel  an 
interest  in  the  records  of  men  who  have  devoted  their  best  facul- 
ties to  their  country's  service,  which  your  '  Portrait  Gallery '  will 
exhibit.     With  great  respect, 

"Tours  truly, 

"  Daniel  Webster." 

"  Lexington,  Et.,  October  13,  1843. 
"  William  H.  Brown,  Esq. — 

"  Dear  Sir  :  Your  favor  of  the  2d  instant  is  received.  I  well 
remember  your  collection  of  the  likenesses  of  our  public  men, 
members  of  Congress,  the  Cabinet,  and  other  officials  in  and 
about  Washington  City,  and  I  will  say  that  I  was  particularly 
struck  with  their  truthfulness.  That  of  the  Hon.  John  Randolph, 
of  Roanoke,  is  the  very  perfection  of  your  art.  I  shall  not  soon 
forget  the  amusement  you  afforded  the  visitors  at  the  Blue  Lick 
Springs  last  summer,  by  your  delineations  of  many  of  them  in 
your  peculiar  and  characteristic  style  of  portraiture,  unequalled  by 
any  other  artist  in  that  way  I  have  ever  seen. 

"  The  work  you  propose  to  publish  will,  no  doubt,  be  an  inter- 
esting acquisition  to  the  reading  public,  and  I  request  you  here  to 
put  my  name  down  in  the  list  of  your  subscribers  for  a  copy  as 
soon  as  it  is  ready  for  distribution.     With  great  respect,  I  remain, 

"  Yours  truly, 

"Henry  Clay." 


RECAPITULATION.  201 

The  foregoing  letters  are  in  allusion  to  a  "  Portrait- 
Gallery  of  Distinguished  Public  Men,"  published  by  the 
author  a  few  years  after.  They  are  referred  to  in  this 
work  merely  as  further  evidences  of  the  author's  skill 
in  his  peculiar  art  of  sketching  in  black  paper  outline 
or  profile,  that  our  readers  may  rely  upon  the  correct- 
ness of  the  representation  of  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton  " 
and  train,  which  we  insert. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

RECAPITULATION. 

We  trust  that  we  have  now  faithfully  performed 
the  task  undertaken  by  us,  when  we  commenced  these 
pages  ;  and  we  believe  that  our  readers  will  not  enter- 
tain a  doubt,  from  the  chain  of  authentic  and  reliable 
evidence  we  have  brought  before  them,  that  the  first 
locomotive  ever  run  upon  a  railroad  in  this  country  was 
the  "Stourbridge  Lion,"  imported  from  England  in 
1829.  We  have  shown  that  this  machine  was  ordered 
by  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Dela-. 
ware  and  Hudson  Canal  and  Railroad  Company,  to  be 
used  upon  their  road,  which  connected  with  their  canal ; 
that  Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  the  assistant  engineer  under 
Mr.  Jervis,  was  on  a  visit  to  England,  and  witnessed 
the  experiments  then  made  in  the  contest  for  the  prize 
of  £500  offered  by  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Pail- 
road  for  the  locomotive  that  should  perform  certain  re- 
quisitions ;  that  Mr.  Allen  was  instructed  by  Mr.  Jer- 
vis to  contract  for  three  locomotives  for  the  Delaware 


202         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

and  Hudson  Railroad ;  that  the  first  of  these  engines, 
the  "Stourbridge  Lion,"  arrived  in  the  city  of  New 
York  by  the  ship  John  Jay  on  the  17th  of  May,  1829, 
and  was  set  up  by  Mr.  Allen  in  the  yard  of  the  West 
Point  Foundery  Works,  then  in  the  city,  and,  with 
steam  from  the  shops,  publicly  exhibited  for  several 
weeks,  and  visited  by  thousands  attracted  by  the  novel- 
ty of  the  machine. 

We  have  shown  that  the  "  Stourbridge  Lion  "  was 
next  shipped  up  the  Hudson  River  to  Rondout,  where 
it  arrived  on  the  4th  of  July,  1829,  and  thence  for- 
warded by  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  to  Hones- 
dale,  where  it  was  landed  on  the  23d  of  July,  was  im- 
mediately placed  upon  the  company's  railroad,  and  made 
its  first  trial-trip  under  steam  on  Saturday,  the  8th  day 
of  August,  1829,  in  the  presence  of  several  thousand 
spectators  attracted  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to 
witness  the  advent  of  the  first  locomotive  in  America. 
We  have  also  shown  that  on  that  memorable  occasion 
Mr.  Allen  stood  alone  upon  the  engine,  and  with 
his  own  hand  opened  the  valve  that  gave  the  impulse 
to  the  driving-wheel  that  made  the  first  revolution  upon 
a  railroad  in  America. 

From  the  most  reliable  sources  our  readers  have 
been  informed  that  the  first  locomotive  ever  built  in 
America  was  a  "Liliputian"  affair,  made  for  experi- 
mental purposes  alone.  It  was  nevertheless  a  locomo- 
tive, and  was  built  by  Peter  Cooper,  Esq.,  of  New  York, 
well  and  most  favorably  known  as  the  founder  and 
patron  of  the  Cooper  Institute  of  that  city.  This  little 
machine  of  Mr.  Cooper's  (we  call  it  little  because  it 
weighed  less  than  a  ton)  was  expressly  built  to  de- 
monstrate a  principle  upon  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  with  regard  to  the  capability  of  a  locomotive 


RECAPITULATION.  203 

to  sustain  itself  upon  the  track  in  running  curves — a 
much  and  almost  universally  disputed  point  among 
engineers  and  scientific  men  of  that  early  period  in  rail- 
road experience. 

From  the  evidences  we  have  given,  our  readers  must 
now  be  convinced  that  the  very  first  locomotive  built 
in  America  for  actual  service  was  ordered  by  and  made 
for  the  South  Carolina  Railroad  then  just  commenced, 
and  but  a  few  miles  completed.  This  first  locomotive 
was  contracted  for  by  E.  L.  Miller,  Esq.,  an  enterprising 
gentleman  of  Charleston,  who  had  visited  England  and 
witnessed  the  contest  for  the  £500  prize.  Mr.  Miller 
had  his  locomotive  constructed  at  the  West  Point 
Foundery  Works  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Mr.  David 
Matthew,  then  a  foreman  in  the  machine-shops,  had 
charge  of  the  hands  fitting  up  this  machine  or  locomo- 
tive. It  was  called  by  Mr.  Miller  the  "  Best  Friend,  of 
Charleston,"  and  was  forwarded  by  ship  Niagara,  and 
arrived  in  Charleston  on  the  23d  of  October,  1830.  No 
person  accompanied  this  locomotive  from  the  works  in 
New  York  to  put  it  up  and  try  its  abilities  upon  a  road. 
That  duty  was  performed  by  Mr.  Julius  D.  Petsch, 
foreman  of  Mr.  Thomas  Dotterer's  machine-shops  in 
Charleston,  assisted  by  Nicholas  W.  Darrell,  a  young 
man  just  out  of  his  time.  The  first  experiments  with  a 
train,  we  have  shown,  took  place  on  the  2d  of  Novem- 
ber, and  again  on  the  14th  and  15th  of  December,  1830, 
on  which  last  trial-trip  before  the  public,  as  from  the 
first,  the  machine  was  in  charge  of  Mr.  Darrell  as  engi- 
neer, who  continued  to  act  in  that  capacity  until  the 
June  following,  when,  through  the  ignorance  of  the 
negro  fireman,  the  "  Best  Friend "  exploded,  severely 
scalding  Mr.  Darrell,  and  resulting  finally  in  the  death 
of  the  negro  from  his  injuries. 


204         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

We  have  given  evidence  to  show  that  the  second 
locomotive  built  in  America  was  likewise  constructed 
at  the  West  Point  Foundery  Works,  and  for  the  South 
Carolina  Railroad.  This  machine  was  ordered  by  Ho- 
ratio Allen,  Esq.,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  road,  and 
made  from  plans  and  drawings  sent  out  by  him.  The 
engine  was  completed  and  forwarded  by  the  ship  La- 
fayette, and  arrived  in  Charleston  on  the  28th  day  of 
February,  1831,  and  made  her  first  successful  trial-trip 
over  the  road  on  the  5th  of  March,  1831.  This  loco- 
motive was  called  the  "  West  Point,"  and  was  in  charge 
of  Mr.  Darrell,  who  meantime  had  recovered  from  the 
injuries  received  by  the  explosion  of  the  "Best  Friend." 
Mr.  David  Matthew  also  had  charge  of  the  hands  fitting 
up  the  "  West  Point "  as  well  as  the  "  Best  Friend  "  at 
the  Foundery  Works,  New  York. 

We  have  produced  satisfactory  evidence  to  prove 
that  the  third  successful  locomotive  constructed  in 
America  was  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton,"  built  also  at  the 
West  Point  Works  for  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Rail- 
road. This  engine  was  completed  and  taken  to  Albany 
the  latter  part  of  June,  1831,  in  charge  of  Mr.  David 
Matthew,  who  put  it  upon  the  road,  and,  after  several 
experimental  trials  in  July,  made  the  first  excursion- 
trip  with  a  train  of  cars  on  the  9th  day  of  August,  1831, 
as  represented  in  the  author's  sketch  taken  upon  the 
spot  just  as  the  train  was  about  to  start. 

We  have  shown  that  about  this  time  (midsummer, 
1831)  the  locomotive  built  by  Mr.  Davis  at  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, was  put  upon  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road, as  the  most  effective  of  the  number  presented  at 
the  trial  for  the  prize  offered  by  that  company.  Of  the 
doings  of  this  engine,  we  have  a  further  and  more  par- 
ticular account  in  an  extract  we  make  from  a  work 


EECAPITULATION.  205 

entitled  a  "History  and  Description  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad,"  presented  to  us  by  B.  H.  Latrobe, 
Esq.,  of  that  road,  thus : 

"  In  pursuance  of  this  call  upon  American  genius,  made  by  the 
directors,  three  locomotives  were  produced  upon  the  road,  only 
one  of  which,  however,  was  made  to  answer  any  good  purpose. 
This  engine,  called  '  The  York,'  was  built  at  York,  Pennsylvania, 
by  Phineas  Davis  (or  rather  Davis  and  Gartner),  and,  after 
undergoing  certain  modifications,  was  found  capable  of  conveying 
fifteen  tons  at  fifteen  miles  per  hour  on  a  level  portion  of  the 
road.  It  was  employed  on  that  part  of  the  road  between  Balti- 
more and  Ellicott's  Mills,  and  generally  performed  the  trip  to 
the  Mills  in  one  hour,  with  four  cars,  being  a  gross  weight  of 
about  fourteen  tons.  This  engine  was  mouuted  on  wheels,  like 
those  of  the  common  cars,  of  thirty  inches  diameter,  and  the 
velocity  was  obtained  by  means  of  gearing  with  a  spur-wheel  and 
pinion  on  one  of  the  axles  of  the  road-wheels. 

"  The  curvatures  were  all  travelled  with  great  facility  by  this 
engine,  its  greatest  velocity,  for  a  short  time,  on  straight  parts  of 
the  road,  having  been  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  per  hour,  while  it 
frequently  attained  that  of  twenty  miles,  and  often  travelled  in 
curvatures  of  four  hundred  feet  radius,  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  miles 
per  hour.  The  fuel  used  was  anthracite  coal,  and  answered  well ; 
but  the  engine,  weighing  but  three  and  a  half  tons,  was  found  too 
light  for  advantageous  use  in  ascending  grades.  The  performance 
of  this  engine  fully  confirmed  the  board  and  its  engineer  corps 
that  locomotives  might  be  successfully  used  on  a  railway  having 
curves  of  four  hundred  feet  radius,  and  from  that  time  forward 
every  encouragement  was  given  by  the  company  to  the  inventive 
genius  of  the  country  to  improve  on  the  partially  successful  experi- 
mental engine  that  had  been  produced  by  Mr.  Davis. 

"In  September,  1835,  Mr.  Davis  met  with  a  sudden  and  un- 
expected death.  He  was  riding  upon  the  tender  of  a  new  locomo- 
tive, on  its  trial-trip  upon  the  Washington  branch,  accompanied 
by  a  large  number  of  his  employes  on  an  excursion  to  the  capital. 
The  engine  struck  the  end  of  a  broken  rail  and  was  thrown  off*  the 
track.  Mr.  Davis  was  hurled  with  great  force  against  the  engine, 
causing  his  instantaneous  death.  This  melancholy  event  produced 
a  deep  gloom  over  the  excursionists  and  the  whole  community 
where  Mr.  Davis  was  known.  In  his  death  the  Baltimore  and 
14 


206         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

Ohio  Railroad  met  with  a  great  loss.  He  was  an  able  and  ingeni- 
ous mechanic,  and  one  of  the  most  indefatigable  assistants  to  the 
company,  in  its  experimental  and  mechanical  department." 

But  to  resume  our  history.  We  have  shown  that,  as 
early  as  1831,  the  first  eight- wheeled  locomotive  ever 
built,  either  in  England  or  America,  was  construct- 
ed from  plans  by  Horatio  Allen,  Esq.,  and  put  upon  the 
South  Carolina  Railroad.  This  machine  was  made  at 
the  West  Point  Foundery  Works,  and  forwarded  to 
Charleston  in  charge  of  Mr.  John  Degnon,  who  run  it 
for  a  short  time  until  accepted  by  the  road,  and  then  it 
was  placed  in  charge  of  Mr.  Darrell. 

We  have,  in  the  course  of  our  narrative,  shown  that 
the  South  Carolina  Railroad  was  the  first  railroad  in 
the  world  built  expressly  for  locomotive-power ;  that 
when  Mr.  Bennett's  famous  resolution  to  that  effect  was 
unanimously  adopted  by  its  board  of  directors,  the 
directors  of  the  road  from  Liverpool  to  Manchester  in 
England,  just  completed,  had  not  yet  determined  what 
kind  of  power  should  be  used  upon  the  road.  A 
majority  of  the  committee  of  engineers,  appointed  to 
examine  and  report  upon  that  important  matter,  were 
in  favor  of  stationary  engines  with  long  chains  or  ropes 
to  draw  the  trains  over  the  road.  George  Stephenson, 
being  one  of  their  number,  was  alone  in  favor  of  the 
locomotive.  Again  we  show  that  the  first  one  hundred 
consecutive  miles  of  iron  rails  upon  a  road  was  laid 
upon  the  South  Carolina  Railroad.  These  statements, 
though  startling  to  the  minds  of  many,  are  nevertheless 
true,  and  can  be  sustained  by  the  best  authority,  and 
without  a  shadow  of  doubt. 

Mr.  William  K enable,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
West  Point  Works  during  the  year  1829,  and  after- 
ward while  these  machines  were  built,  in  his  letter  to 


FIRST   TRUCK-ENGINE  207 

the  author  fully  sustains  all  the  facts  connected  with 
the  early  history  of  the  English  engine  "  Stourbridge 
Lion,"  and  the  first  three  American  engines  built  in  the 
United  States,  viz.,  the  "Best  Friend,"  the  "West 
Point,"  and  the  "De  Witt  Clinton;"  and  no  further 
evidence  is  required  to  establish  these  facts. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

FIRST     TRUCK-ENGINE. 

These  experiments  on  the  South  Carolina  Railroad 
paved  the  way  for  several  others  which  soon  after 
followed,  and  at  this  day  they  are  looked  upon  as  more 
remarkable,  from  the  early  date  in  locomotive  enterprise 
in  which  they  were  attempted,  and  with  such  surpris- 
ing results.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these  early 
efforts  was  the  introduction  of  the  truck  under  the 
front  part  of  the  machine,  to  assist  in  sustaining  the 
weight  of  the  boiler,  and  to  give  direction  to  the 
machine  in  running  upon  curves. 

As  this  truck  attachment  has  now  become  so  univer- 
sally adopted,  and  has  never  been  patented,  we  will  give 
a  description  of  the  first  machine  ever  built  which  used 
it.  We  take  it  from  a  letter  received  by  the  author 
from  Mr.  David  Matthew,  who  superintended  the  hands 
while  constructing  the  machine.  Mr.  Matthew  thus 
writes : 

"American  locomotive  No.  1,  second  series,  was  built  at  the 
"West  Point  Foundery  "Works,  for  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Rail- 
road, from  plans  sent  by  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  chief  engineer  of  that 
road.     I  left  New  York  in  August,  1832,  with  the  engine  in  charge 


208         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

to  place  on  the  road  and  run  it.  This  was  the  first  bogie  engine 
or  truck  used  under  the  front  part,  ever  built  in  this  country  or 
any  other.  The  engine  had  nine  and  a  half  inch  cylinders,  six- 
teen-inch  stroke,  and  had  two  pairs  of  driving-wheels  five  feet  in 
diameter,  and  set  aft  the  furnace ;  had  four  wheels,  thirty-three 
inches'  diameter,  in  the  truck.  This  truck  was  placed  under  the 
front  end  of  the  boiler  for  support,  attached  by  a  strong  pin,  and 
worked  upon  friction-rollers  so  as  easily  to  follow  the  curves  of 
the  road,  as  the  fore-wheels  of  a  carriage  upon  common  roads. 

"  The  boiler-furnace  was  five  feet  long,  by  thirty-four  inches 
wide,  with  three-inch  tubes,  and  made  to  burn  anthracite  coal. 
With  this  engine  I  have  crossed  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Kail- 
road  from  plane  to  plane,  fourteen  miles,  in  thirteen  minutes,  mak- 
ing one  stop  for  water.  I  have  tried  her  speed  upon  a  level,  straight 
line,  and  have  made  one  mile  in  forty-five  seconds  by  the  watch. 
She  was  the  fastest  and  steadiest  engine  I  have  ever  run  or  seen, 
and  she  worked  with  the  greatest  ease. 

"  The  first  of  this  kind  of  engine,  with  the  truck  in  front,  ever 
built  in  England,  was  the  '  Davy  Crocket,'  constructed  by  Robert 
Stephenson,  for  the  Saratoga  Railroad  Company,  from  drawings 
and  plans  sent  out  to  him  by  John  B.  Jervis,  Esq.,  who  was  the 
inventor  of  this  attachment.  I  never  tried  this  engine  at  her 
speed,  but  all  her  movements  were  with  similar  ease,  and  it  did 
not  work  us  all  over  to  take  eighteen  to  twenty  cars  over  the  road. 
This  machine  was  placed  on  the  road  in  1833,  and  run  for  many 
years.  She  had  two  driving-wheels  aft  and  four  truck-wheels. 
The  driving-wheels  were  aft  the  furnace,  which  plan  was  adopted 
by  M.  W.  Baldwin,  who  claims  this  as  the  general  arrangement. 
But  the  original  plans  and  drawings,  from  the  inventor,  John  B. 
Jervis,  Esq.,  are  yet  in  my  possession." 

Of  this  engine  Mr.  Jervis  thus  speaks  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  the  author,  April  20,  1869 : 

"Not  satisfied  with  the  working  of  four-wheel  engines,  in  the 
fall  of  1831  I  made  a  plan  with  a  set  of  trucks  as  leading- wheels, 
which  was  executed  by  the  West  Point  Foundery  Association,  New- 
York  City. 

"  This  engine  gave  rise  to  the  plan  of  truck-leading,  or  rather 
this  engine  was  made  on  the  plan  which  is  now  in  general  use  on 
American  railways. 


FIRST   TRUCK-ENGINE.  209 

"  Mr.  David  Matthew  was  the  machinist  who  put  up  this  truck- 
machine.  I  regard  it  as  the  greatest  point  that  an  American 
engineer,  in  the  face  of  English  practice,  should  have  devised  a 
plan,  which  at  the  time  was  considered  very  radical,  of  introdu- 
cing a  truck  to  support  the  end  of  the  frame  and  guide  the  motion 
of  the  engine,  and  which,  after  thirty-seven  years  of  experience,  is 
now  adopted  on  every  engine  of  nearly  fifty  thousand  miles  of  rail- 
road in  America." 

During  the  past  forty  years,  while  railroads  were 
stretching  forth  their  iron  arms  over  vast  sections  of 
our  country,  and  indeed  of  the  civilized  world,  and 
even  through  the  wild  and  thinly-populated  domains 
of  the  savage,  where  exist  vast  forests  and  hitherto 
pathless  deserts  of  sand,  locomotives,  those  absolute 
essentials  to  the  economy  and  success  of  these  enter- 
prises, were  in  like  manner  making  giant  strides  in  the 
way  of  improvement,  from  the  "  Rocket "  of  Stephenson 
in  England,  and  the  "  Best  Friend,  of  Charleston,"  in 
this  country,  to  the  perfection  which  characterizes  the 
first-class  locomotive  of  the  present  day.  When  we 
compare  the  performances  of  these  and  their  readiness 
at  all  hours,  and  under  all  circumstances,  to  brave  the 
torrents,  the  winds,  and  the  snows  of  the  most  terrific 
tempest,  we  cannot  but  call  to  mind  an  advertisement 
in  a  Philadelphia  paper  in  1832.  This  we  will  extract 
just  as  it  appeared.  It  will,  no  doubt,  draw  a  smile 
upon  the  faces  of  our  present  locomotive  engineers.  It 
reads  thus : 

"  Notice  to  the  Public. — The  engine,  with  a  train  of  cars, 
will  be  run  daily,  commencing  this  day,  when  the  weather  is  fair ; 
when  the  weather  is  not  fair,  the  horses  will  draw  the  cars.  Pas- 
sengers are  requested  to  be  punctual  at  the  hour  of  starting." 

"When  we  contemplate  the  rapid  march  made,  upon 
this  continent   alone,  in   railroad  and  locomotive  im- 


210         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

provement,  it  seems  like  the  work  of  enchantment. 
The  mind  is  bewildered  and  almost  carried  away  in  its 
efforts  to  keep  pace  with  or  follow  its  giant  strides. 

Let  ns  (by  way  of  illustration)  conduct  our  reader 
for  a  few  moments  to  some  imaginary  eminence,  from 
which  his  eye  could  command  in  one  sweep  the  entire 
surface  of  our  country.  Let  him  turn  his  gaze  toward 
the  north,  the  south,  the  east,  or  the  west,  even  across 
the  Eocky  Mountains  to  the  shores  of  the  broad  Pacific, 
and  he  will  behold  a  scene  of  life  and  industiy  which 
few  could  be  prepared  to  believe  had  been  developed  in 
less  than  half  a  century.  And  then  let  him  predict  the 
future — if  he  can.  Lead  his  mind  back  to  the  period 
just  forty  years  ago,  when,  on  the  15th  day  of  Decem- 
ber, 1830,  the  first  locomotive  built  in  America  for 
actual  service  upon  a  railroad,  and  known  as  the  "  Best 
Friend,  of  Charleston,"  started  out  upon  its  solitary 
journey,  a  few  miles  only  in  extent,  upon  the  unfinished 
track  of  the  South  Carolina  Railroad — the  second  rail- 
road commenced  in  this  country  for  commercial  pur- 
poses, and  the  first  railroad  in  the  world  built  expressly 
for  locomotive-power.  Let  him  contemplate  this  scene 
for  a  moment,  then  turn  his  mind  to  the  one  presented 
to  him  at  the  present  day ;  all  over  the  wide  expanse  of 
our  Union,  behold  the  countless  railroads  extending  for 
thousands  of  miles  in  every  direction,  bearing  upon  their 
rails  their  droves  of  iron  horses,  of  every  imaginary 
form  and  pattern,  dashing  with  lightning-speed  from 
city  to  city,  with  their  long  and  heavy  trains  of  living, 
breathing  human  creatures,  or  with  their  lengthened 
trains  of  freight-cars,  loaded  with  thousands  of  tons  of 
the  products  of  the  industry  of  the  people,  adding  mill- 
ions to  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  nation,  rushing 
on,  overcoming  all  obstacles,  crossing  wide,  deep,  and 


FIRST   TRUCK-ENGINE.  211 

rapid  rivers,  ascending  the  steepest  grades,  or  driving 
headlong  through  lengthened  tunnels — then  ask  the  be- 
holder if  we  have  yet  reached  the  summit,  the  consumma- 
tion, the  ultimatum  of  this  great  instrumentality  in  the 
advancement  of  the  trade  and  commerce  of  our  prosper- 
ous republic.  He  will  answer,  "  No  !  No  one  can  tell — 
no  one  can  predict — no  mind  can  conceive — no  figures 
can  compute  the  sum  of  what  will  be  the  progress  in 
the  next  forty  years  of  this  great  achievement  of  the 
present  century,  in  the  railroad  and  its  iron  steed." 

Forty  years  ago  an  imported  locomotive  (weighing 
scarcely  a  half-dozen  tons)  made  the  first  experimental 
trip,  of  a  few  miles  only,  upon  a  coal-road  belonging  to 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company.  This  ma- 
chine proved  to  be  too  heavy  for  the  structure,  and  its 
innumerable  trestles  and  bridges,  and  it  was  abandoned, 
and  the  road  soon  after  remodelled  into  a  graded  one 
with  stationary  engines,  as  was  recommended  about  the 
same  time  (1829)  by  the  most  prominent  English  engi- 
neers to  the  directors  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
Railroad,  in  preference  to  the  locomotive  system,  which 
they  looked  upon  as  impracticable. 

Not  the  least  daunted  or  discouraged  by  the  failure 
of  this  first  experiment  at  home,  and  the  opinions  and 
examples  before  them  in  England,  the  directors  of  the 
South  Carolina  Raifroad,  at  their  first  regular  meeting, 
only  five  days  after  their  organization,  passed  unani- 
mously that  memorable  resolution  in  these  very  words  : 
"that  their  railroad  should  be  built  for  locomotive- 
power  alone ;  that  in  selecting  that  power  in  its  applica- 
tion to  railroads,  the  maturity  of  which  will  be  reached 
within  the  time  of  constructing  their  road,  and  render 
the  application  of  animal  power  a  great  abuse  of  the 
gifts  of  genius  and  science."     Their  example  was  fob 


212         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN   AMERICA. 

lowed  in  quick  succession  on  several  railroads  soon  after 
in  the  progress  of  construction,  and  continued  to  spread 
with  unprecedented  rapidity  to  the  present  day. 

We  cannot  quit  the  subject  without  again  drawing 
before  our  readers  a  comparison  between  the  locomo- 
tive passenger-trains  of  the  present  day  and  those  of 
forty  years  ago,  when  the  old-fashioned  stage-coach- 
body  pattern  was  the  model  for  the  first-class  passenger- 
cars,  as  represented  in  the  author's  sketch,  in  this  vol- 
ume, of  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton  "  and  train.  When  we 
compare  these  vehicles  with  the  splendid  drawing-room, 
sleeping,  and  dining-room  cars  now  coming  into  use 
upon  some  of  the  principal  railroad  thoroughfares  and 
soon  to  become  universal ;  and  when  the  old  and  famil- 
iar voice  of  the  conductor,  announcing  "  Twenty  min- 
utes for  dinner,"  will  no  longer  be  heard,  but,  instead 
thereof,  the  hungry  traveller  will  be  ushered  into  a 
splendid  dining-saloon  (attached  to  the  train)  and 
vying  in  elegance  with  the  most  sumptuous  apartment, 
furnished  and  provided  with  all  the  concomitants  of  a 
well-appointed  hotel,  a  table  groaning  under  the  weight 
of  well  cooked  and  prepared  provisions,  followed  by 
all  the  luxuries  of  the  various  seasons  through  which 
they  travel,  served  by  polite  and  attentive  waiters; 
and,  at  length,  at  the  end  of  a  well-enjoyed  meal,  the 
traveller  will  find  himself  some  twenty-five  or  thirty 
miles  farther  advanced  upon  his  journey  than  when  he 
took  his  seat  at  the  summons  to  dinner — all,  all  seems 
like  the  work  of  enchantment !  In  no  other  language, 
perhaps,  can  we  better  illustrate  the  wonderful  strides 
made  in  the  march  of  improvement,  and  the  facilities 
of  intercommunication  within  less  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  than  by  quoting  here  the  words  of  John  H.  B. 
Latrobe,  Esq.,  the  eminent  counsellor  of  the  Baltimore 


FIRST   TRUCK-ENGINE.  213 

and  Ohio  Railroad,  at  a  banquet  given  in  Wheeling  in 
1853,  on  the  successful  completion  of  that  great  enter- 
prise : 

"  With  your  permission,  Mr.  President,  I  will  read,  as  my  text 
for  what  I  propose  to  say,  the  following  extract  from  the  Virginia 
Gazette,  published  in  1836:  'The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Wagon 
Company,  with  a  capital  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  (one- 
fourth  of  which  is  paid  in),  transport  goods  and  produce  between 
Wheeling  and  Baltimore.  One  wagon  departs  and  arrives  daily 
from  each  of  these  places,  with  a  load  weighing  from  two  and  a 
quarter  to  two  and  a  half  tons,  and  occupying  eight  days  upon  the 
road,  and  arrangements  are  in  progress  to  increase  the  number  of 
daily  arrivals  and  departures,  from  one  to  three  wagons,  and  event- 
ually to  five.' 

"  Were  a  new  edition  to  be  prepared  for  the  Virginia  Gazette, 
and  the  paragraph  relating  to  the  intercourse  of  the  two  cities, 
Wheeling  and  Baltimore,  to  be  placed  side  by  side,  how  modest 
would  appear  to  have  been  the  conception  of  its  author,  only  six- 
teen years  ago  ! 

"  The  arrangements  to  which  we  refer,  carried  out  by  a  differ- 
ent company  it  is  true,  but  still  the  arrangements,  uniting  Wheel- 
ing and  Baltimore,  have  resulted  in  the  existence  of  a  company 
with  a  capital  of  twelve  million  dollars,  all  of  which  has  been  paid 
in ;  having  in  charge  a  work  which,  when  completed  and  stocked, 
as  it  is  intended  that  it  shall  be,  will  represent  a  capital  of  about 
twenty  million  dollars,  and  whose  preparations,  so  soon  as  the 
delays  attending  the  first  use  of  all  good  public  works  shall  have 
been  surmounted,  will  insure  the  daily  transportation,  between  the 
Ohio  and  Baltimore,  of  a  thousand  tons  of  goods  and  produce 
in  the  space  of  thirty-six  hours  now,  and  who  can  tell  how  much 
faster  ere  a  few  years  have  been  added  to  the  less  than  the  quarter 
of  a  century  just  referred  to. 

"  Why,  Mr.  President,  the  weight  of  the  tonnage-engine  alone 
used  by  this  railroad  company  almost  equals  the  weight  of  the 
five  loads  that  limited  the  hopes  of  the  wagon  company,  teams, 
wagons,  and  all ;  and  behind  this  engine  there  rolls  at  the  uni- 
form speed  of  twelve  miles  an  hour  three  hundred  tons  of  gross 
weight,  one-half  of  which  is  the  exchange  which  the  Western 
valleys  send  to  the  cities  of  the  Atlantic  border.  We  talk  of  the 
course  of  empire.     Its  type  is  the  locomotive  and  its  train,  whose 


214         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IX   AMERICA. 

tread  is  the  tread  of  a  giant,  from  hill-top  to  hill-top.  We  speak 
of  the  array  of  a  conqueror:  where  is  there  a  conqueror  like 
steam  ?  Its  panoply,  too,  is  of  iron ;  man  has  made  it  not  less 
than  mortal,  as  it  performs  the  work  of  one  hundred  thousand  of 
men's  hands,  and,  as  it  is  impatient  of  delay,  it  rushes  through 
and  through  the  bosom  of  the  hills,  its  white  and  feathery  plume 
is  the  ensign  of  a  daring,  a  courage  that  treads  its  way  through 
the  forest,  or  climbs  the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  a  power  which, 
while  it  may  find  its  comparison  in  the  crest  of  Henry  IY.  at 
Ivry,  is  the  precursor  of  the  triumphs,  not  of  war,  but  of  peace,  as 
they  build  up  the  fame,  not  of  heroes,  but  of  the  people.  .  .  . 
That  the  fruition  of  these  hopes  will  disappoint  no  reasonable  ex- 
pectations, but  surpass  them  all,  who  of  us  can  doubt  ?  The  West 
built  up  Baltimore — first  with  the  pack-saddle,  then  with  the 
county  road,  then  with  the  turnpike — as  it  is  now  about  to  employ 
the  greatest  agent  of  modern  times  to  realize  for  us  the  destiny 
appointed  by  Providence,  when  the  waters  of  the  fountains  of  the 
Potomac  are  made  to  flow  from  the  same  hills  that  sent  their 
tribute  to  the  Ohio." 

In  what  language  would  Mr.  Latrobe  (who  still  lives 
to  see  it)  express  the  wonderful  results  of  the  sixteen 
years  which  have  succeeded  the  events  we  have  just 
recorded  ?  What  comparison  now  would  he  draw  of 
the  daily  transit  over  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
with  that  daily  wagon-load  of  from  two  and  one-fourth 
to  two  and  a  half  tons,  and  the  ultimate  prospect  of  it 
reaching  five  wagon-loads  per  day  ? 

Again,  on  this  memorable  occasion,  the  completion 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  the  arrival  of 
the  first  locomotive  and  train  from  Baltimore  at  Wheel- 
ing, a  guest  from  Cleveland,  James  A.  Briggs,  Esq., 
made  these  appropriate  remarks  in  allusion  to  the 
march  of  internal  improvements  in  railways  and  loco- 
motives : 

"This  is  an  occasion  of  no  common  interest.  The  men  of 
Maryland,  and  Virginia,  and  Ohio,  and  Pennsylvania,  have  met 
here  to  commemorate  the  completion  of  one  of  the  great  lines  of 


FIRST   TRUCK-ENGINE.  215 

trade  and  travel  between  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Ohio  River. 
This  line  of  railroad  is  a  great  work.  It  was  originated  by  men 
who  had  the  capacity  to  conceive  great  designs  and  the  courage 
to  execute  them.  The  work  is  finished.  The  iron  horse  has  trav- 
elled on  his  iron  pathway  from  the  '  Monumental  City '  over  the 
Alleghanies  to  this  not  long  since  frontier  settlement,  but  now  the 
flourishing  city  of  Wheeling.  Here,  in  this  room,  are  men  who 
have  heard  the  warwhoop  of  the  Indian  on  this  very  spot,  and  to- 
day they  have  heard  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  locomotive.  How 
wonderful  that  such  changes  have  come  within  the  memory  of 
those  who  still  live !  And  this  is  a  change  which  tells  not  of  war 
and  carnage — not  of  cities  desolated,  and  villages  ruined,  and 
fields  laid  waste — but  of  the  progress  of  the  arts  of  peace,  of  the 
advancement  of  a  high  order  of  civilization,  and  of  the  onward 
course  of  the  car  of  Christianity,  freighted  with  innumerable  bless- 
ings for  the  whole  world-wide  family  of  man.  ...  I  do  most 
cordially  congratulate  the  people  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  upon 
the  completion  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad.  It  is  one 
link  in  the  chain  which  binds  us  together  as  a  nation.  While 
I  am  now  speaking,  the  locomotive  that  drinks  and  smokes,  and  is 
a  '  fast  fellow,'  is  thundering  along  on  his  iron  track  from  the 
'  Queen  City '  of  Ohio,  and  from  the  far-off  prairies  of  Illinois, 
heading  long  trains  freighted  with  men  and  the  products  of  the 
rich  fields  of  the  West  to  Eastern  markets. 

"  As  I  stood  last  evening  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  looking  at 
the  beautiful  and  magnificent  iron  bridge  which  spans  the  river 
like  a  bow,  and  gemmed  and  sparkling  as  it  was  with  a  thousand 
lights,  I  could  but  believe  that  the  tall  pipes  of  the  majestic 
steamers  would,  in  all  coming  time,  bow  as  they  passed  to  this 
grand  work  of  the  genius  of  man.  Last  March,  a  goodly  number 
of  the  people  of  Cleveland  and  the  Reserve  were  here  to  celebrate 
the  completion  of  the  railroad  from  the  Lake  to  Wellsville.  We  are 
hereto-night  to  rejoice  over  the  advent  of  the  iron  horse  from 
Baltimore  to  Wheeling,  and,  before  this  year  shall  have  passed 
away,  to  be  numbered  with  the  years  that  have  gone,  we  hope 
the  last  link  in  the  line  of  railroad  between  Baltimore  and  Cleve- 
land will  be  finished ;  and  then,  in  return  for  your  energies  and 
enterprise  and  hospitality,  we  trust  you  may  be  invited  to  par- 
take of  true  and  genuine  Yankee  hospitality  in  the  '  Forest  City,' 
'the  City  upon  the  Lake-shore,'  and  although  the  season  may 
make  it  winter  without,  we  can  assure  you  that  the  warmth  of  the 
heart  shall  make  it  summer  within." 


, 


216        HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA. 

All  this  has  been  verified,  and  Low  much  more  will 
be  accomplished  within  the  next  forty  years  to  come  no 
man  can  predict ;  for  even  now  the  author  has  noticed 
advertisements  announcing  through-tickets  for  sale  for 
the  round-trip  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  passing 
through  all  the  intermediate  cities  on  the  plains  and  re- 
turning, with  beautiful  and  comfortable  parlor,  dining- 
room,  dressing-room,  and  sleeping  cars  throughout  the 
entire  route.  Price  ninety  dollars  for  the  round-trip. 
N.  B. — Excursionists  have  the  privilege  of  going  by 
any  train  or  at  any  time,  without  restriction. 

Another  announcement  on  a  much  more  extensive 
scale  may  now  be  seen  posted  up  at  all  the  hotels  and 
railroad  offices  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  no  doubt 
by  this  time  in  all  other  cities,  which  reads  as  follows : 

"  Great  Excursion  to  Europe  and  the  East. 

"Visiting  London,  the  seat  of  the  last  war  in  France,  Switzer- 
land, Rome,  Naples,  Pompeii,  Vesuvius,  Greece,  the  pyramids  of 
Gizeh ;  returning  to  Venice  and  Vienna  to  spend  the  carnival 
there,  and  over  Paris  to  New  York. 

"Prices  $1,500,  $1,200,  $1,000,  gold. 

"  Concerning  the  participation  for  four  or  five  months,  includ- 
ing excellent  board,  with  wine,  free  entrance  to  all  sights,  partly 
to  theatres  and  concerts,  all  drives  in  carriages,  on  horses,  and  in 
boats  or  gondolas  ;  free  guiding  all  during  the  voyage,  free  lug- 
gage, the  use  of  tents,  saddles,  jars,  and  the  escort  of  Bedouins, 
on  the  land-tour  through  Palestine. 

"  A  courier,  a  physician,  a  lady  companion  for  the  ladies,  and  a 
servant  speaking  all  forecoming  languages,  accompanying  the 
party. 

"  Only  first-class  steamers  and  hotels  will  be  frequented ;  the 
undertaking  provides  for  every  thing,  and  the  greatest  attention 
paid  to  ladies.     Apply  to 

"Messrs.  Kunhardt  &  Company, 

"  61  Broad  Street,  New  York, 
"  Or  at  the  Universal  Excursion  Company, 

"Prescott  House,  531  Broadway,  New  York." 


FIRST   TRUCK-ENGINE.  217 

This  company  (well  known  in  Europe)  was  present 
with  two  parties  at  the  inauguration  of  the  Suez  Canal 
in  Egypt,  November,  1869.  Excursions  under  their 
charge  are  made  every  year  to  Spain  and  Portugal; 
Norway,  Sweden,  and  Russia;  Italy,  Greece,  Turkey, 
Palestine,  and  Egypt,  a  trip  up  the  Nile  included ;  and 
special  excursions  twice  a  year  to  London,  Paris,  Vienna, 
and  Venice,  staying  over  the  carnival.  Doubtless  in  a 
few  years  these  prices  above  will  be  regarded  as  fabu- 
lous. Competition  has  already  commenced  in  the  routes 
to  the  Pacific  coast,  as  appears  by  the  following : 

"  Union  Pacific  Railroad. — Two  hundred  and  twenty-six 
miles  saved  for  Chicago  by  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  via  Omaha. 
One  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  saved  from  Indianapolis.  One 
hundred  and  seventeen  miles  saved  from  Cincinnati.  Twenty- 
five  miles  saved  from  St.  Louis  to  Salt  Lake  City,  Sacramento, 
San  Francisco,  Sandwich  Islands,  New  Zealand,  Australia,  China, 
Japan,  and  India.  The  best  route  to  Denver,  Colorado,  New 
Mexico,  and  Arizona. 

"  Remember  that  only  those  tickets  via  Omaha  are  sure  of 
places  in  the  through  Pullman  palace  cars.  For  sale  at  all  the 
principal  ticket-offices  in  the  United  States  and  Canada." 

•  All  this  is  the  work  of  the  locomotive,  under  the 
impulse  of  that  powerful  yet  invisible  offspring  from 
two  of  the  most  conflicting  elements  brought  within  con- 
trol, by  the  ingenuity  of  man,  in  the  invention  of  the 
steam-engine,  advanced  as  it  now  is  to  a  stage  of  per- 
fection in  less  than  a  century. 

In  the  present  improved  state  of  this  machine,  it 
seems  to  be  a  thing  almost  endowed  with  human  intelli- 
gence. It  regulates  with  perfect  accuracy  and  uniform- 
ity the  number  of  its  revolutions  in  a  given  time ;  it 
regulates  the  quantity  of  steam  required  to  do  its  work ; 
it  opens  and  shuts  its  valves  with  absolute  precision  as 
to  time  and  manner ;  it  helps  itself  to  all  the  water  it 


218         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

wants ;  it  oils  its  own  joints,  and,  when  any  thing  goes 
wrong  which  it  cannot  itself  rectify,  it  gives  timely 
warning  to  its  attendant.  Yet,  with  all  these  talents 
and  qualities,  and  even  when  fully  capable  of  exerting 
the  power  of  six  hundred  or  a  thousand  horses,  it  is 
obedient  to  the  hand  of  a  child.  Its  food  is  coal  or 
wood,  or  any  thing  combustible ;  'it  consumes  nothing 
when  idle ;  it  never  tires  or  wants  to  rest  or  sleej) ;  it 
is  not  subject  to  malady  when  originally  made  well, 
and  only  refuses  to  work  when  worn  out  with  age ;  it 
is  equally  active  in  all  climates,  and  will  do  work  of 
any  kind ;  it  is  a  water-pumper,  a  miner,  a  sawyer,  a 
tanner,  a  stone-cutter,  a  turner,  a  carpenter,  a  black- 
smith, a  cotton-spinner,  a  weaver,  a  sailor ;  in  short,  it  is 
a  mechanic  in  every  branch  of  art.  It  has  revolution- 
ized the  whole  domain  of  human  industry,  and  almost 
every  year  is  adding  to  its  power  and  its  conquests.  In 
our  manufactures,  arts,  commerce,  and  our  social  ac- 
commodations, it  is  constantly  achieving  what,  less  than 
fifty  years  ago,  would  have  been  accounted  marvellous 
or  an  impossibility;  it  can  engrave  a  seal,  and  crush 
masses  of  the  hardest  metal  like  wax  before  it ;  draw 
out,  without  breaking,  a  thread  as  fine  as  gossamer,  and 
lift  a  ship  like  a  feather  in  the  air !  It  can  embroider 
muslin,  and  forge  huge  anchors ;  cut  steel  into  ribbons, 
and  impel  loaded  vessels  against  the  fury  of  the  wind 
and  waves ;  and  in  the  shape  of  a  locomotive,  or  iron 
horse,  it  can  now  be  seen  daily  and  hourly  dragging 
after  it,  on  a  railroad,  hundreds  of  tons  of  merchandise 
and  crowds  of  living  freight,  in  the  shape  of  men  or 
animals,  or  an  army  of  soldiers  with  all  their  munitions 
of  war,  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  or  more  an  hour. 

The  locomotive,  the  most  potent  and  at  the  same 
time  the  most  perfectly  controllable  of  all  our  mechani- 


FIRST   TRUCK-ENGINE.  219 

cal  agencies,  has  already  been  impelled  at  the  flying 
speed  of  thirty,  forty,  and  even  sixty  miles  an  hour ;  and 
if  so  much  has  been  done  already,  it  would  be  rash  to 
say  or  conclude  that  this  is  to  be  its  ultimatum.  After 
the  results  of  the  last  few  years,  we  ash,  has  it  yet 
reached  its  limits  \  No.  Only  as  late  as  1837  or  '38, 
twenty-three  years  ago,  the  editor  of  a  well-known  and 
popular  magazine  in  New  York,  the  Knickerbocker,  in 
noticing  in  its  columns  Parker's  "  Journal  of  an  Explor- 
ing Tour  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,"  predicted  the 
ultimate  building  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific.  After 
briefly  extracting  some  of  the  scenes  and  interesting 
objects,  together  with  the  adventures  described  by  the 
explorers,  before  and  after  crossing  the  "  Black  Hills," 
he  thus  writes : 

"There  would  seem  to  be  no  insurmountable  barrier  to  the 
construction  of  a  railroad  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  No 
greater  elevations  would  need  to  be  overcome,  than  have  been  sur- 
mounted on  the  Portage  and  Ohio  Railroad.  And  the  work  will 
be  accomplished.  Let  this  prediction  be  marked.  This  great 
chain  of  communication  will  be  made  with  links  of  iron.  vThe 
treasures  of  the  earth  in  that  wide  region  are  not  destined  to  be 
lost.  The  mountains  of  coal,  the  vast  meadow  seas,  the  fields  of 
salt,  the  mighty  forests,  with  their  trees  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
feet  in  height,  the  stores  of  magnesia,  the  crystallized  lakes  of 
valuable  salts — these  were  not  formed  to  be  unemployed  and 
wasted.  The  reader  is  now  living  who  will  make  a  railroad  trip 
across  the  vast  continent. 

"  The  granite  mountain  will  melt  before  the  hand  of  enter- 
prise ;  valleys  will  be  raised,  and  the  unwearying  fire-steed  will 
spout  his  hot,  white  breath  where  silence  has  reigned  since  the 
morning  hymn  of  young  Creation  was  pealed  over  mountain,  flood, 
and  field.  The  mammoth's  bone  and  the  bison's  horn,  buried  for 
centuries,  and  long  since  turned  to  stone,  will  be  bared  to  the  day 
by  the  laborers  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad  Company ; 
rocks  which  stand  now  as  on  the  night  when  Noah's  deluge  first 
dried,  will  heave  beneath  the  action  of  '  villanous  saltpetre ;'  and 


220         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

when  the  prairie  stretches  away  '  like  the  round  ocean,'  girded 
with  the  sky,  with  its  wood-fringed  streams,  its  flower-enamelled 
turf,  and  its  herds  of  startled  buffaloes,  shall  sweep  the  long, 
hissing  train  of  cars,  crowded  with  passengers  for  the  Pacific  sea- 
board. The  very  realms  of  Chaos  and  old  Night  will  be  invaded  ; 
while  in  place  of  the  roar  of  wild  beasts,  or  howl  of  wild  Indians, 
will  be  heard  the  lowing  of  herds,  the  bleating  of  flocks ;  the 
plough  will  cleave  the  sods  of  many  a  rich  valley  and  fruitful  hill, 
while  from  many  a  dark  bosom  shall  go  up  the  pure  prayer  to  the 
Great  Spirit." 

The  foregoing  passage  was  copied  at  the  time  of  its 
publication  into  one  or  two  metropolitan  daily  journals, 
and,  while  its  manner  was  courteously  commended,  it 
was  pronounced  visionary  and  absurd  in  its  specula- 
tions ;  and  yet,  ere  a  dozen  years  had  passed,  such  were 
the  manifest  improvements  in  railroads  and  locomotives, 
that  the  very  ablest  and  most  influential  of  these  jour- 
nals expressed  its  convictions  that  the  time  was  close  at 
hand  when  the  nation  would  put  forth  its  strength  and 
commence  the  greatest  and  most  important  work  ever 
devised  or  contemplated  by  man.  A  national  railroad, 
designed  to  connect  the  inhabitants  on  our  Atlantic 
border  with  our  colonists  lying  on  the  coast  of  the  Pa- 
cific ;  a  national  railroad  traversing  a  vast  continent,  and 
passing  over  two  thousand  miles  of  wilderness  still  in 
the  undisputed  possession  of  the  red-man,  the  buffalo, 
and  the  bear ;  a  national  railroad  that  shall  become  the 
highway  of  nations  for  the  commerce  of  the  Eastern 
world,  and  make  New  York  its  great  depot ;  a  national 
railroad,  the  cost  of  which  will  not  fall  much  short  of 
a  hundred  million  dollars,  and  which  will  not  really 
cost  the  nation  one  dollar,  but  increase  its  natural  reve- 
nues more  than  five  times  its  cost,  by  reason  of  the 
value  it  will  impart  to  our  public  domain — such  an 
enterprise  is  indeed  a  project  worthy  of  the   age   in 


FIRST   TRUCK-ENGINE.  221 

which  we  live.  The  subject  was  soon  before  the  coun- 
try ;  and  our  readers  will  admire  with  us  the  eloquence 
of  Thomas  H.  Benton,  the  Missouri  Senator,  in  his 
speech  before  the  Pacific  Railroad  Convention  held  in 
St.  Louis : 

"  We  live  in  extraordinary  times,  and  are  called  upon  to  ele- 
vate ourselves  to  the  grandeur  of  the  occasion.  Three  and  a  half 
centuries  ago  the  great  Columbus — the  man  who  was  afterward 
carried  home  in  chains  from  the  New  World  which  he  had  dis- 
covered— this  great  Columbus,  in  the  year  1492,  departed  from 
Europe  to  arrive  in  the  East  by  going  to  the  West.  It  was  a  sub- 
lime conception.  He  was  in  the  line  of  success,  when  the  inter- 
vention of  two  continents,  not  dreamed  of  before,  arrested  his 
progress.  Now,  in  the  nineteeth  century,  mechanical  genius 
enables  the  great  design  to  be  fulfilled.  In  the  beginning,  and  in 
barbarous  ages,  the  sea  was  a  barrier  to  the  intercourse  of  nations : 
it  separated  nations.  Mechanical  genius,  in  inventing  the  ship, 
converted  that  barrier  into  a  facility.  Then  land  and  continents 
became  the  obstruction.  The  two  Americas  intervening  have 
prevented  Europe  and  Asia  from  communicating  in  the  straight 
line.  For  three  centuries  and  a  half  this  obstacle  has  frustrated 
the  grand  design  of  Columbus.  Now,  in  our  day,  mechanical 
genius  has  again  triumphed  over  the  obstacles  of  Nature,  and  con- 
verted into  a  facility  that  which  had  so  long  been  an  impassable 
obstacle.  The  steam-car  has  worked  upon  the  land,  and  among 
enlightened  nations,  and  to  a  degree  far  transcending  it,  the 
miracle  which  the  ship,  in  barbarous  ages,  worked  upon  the  ocean. 
The  land  has  now  become  the  facility  for  the  most  distant  com- 
munications, the  conveyance  being  invented  which  annihilates  both 
time  and  space.  We  hold  the  intervening  land ;  we  hold  the  ob- 
stacle which  stopped  Columbus  ;  we  are  in  the  line  between  Europe 
and  Asia. 

"  We  have  it  in  our  power  to  remove  that  obstacle,  to  convert 
it  into  a  facility,  and  to  carry  him  on  to  his  land  of  promise  and 
of  hope  with  a  rapidity,  a  precision,  and  a  safety,  unknown  to  all 
ocean  navigation.  A  king  and  a  queen  started  him  upon  his  great 
enterprise ;  it  lies  in  the  hands  of  a  republic  to  complete  it.  It  is 
in  our  hands — we,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  of  this  first  half 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  Let  us  rise  to  the  grandeur  of  the 
15 


222         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

occasion.  Let  us  complete  the  grand  design  of  Columbus  by  putting 
Europe  and  Asia  into  communication,  and  that  to  our  advantage, 
through  the  heart  of  our  own  country.  Let  us  give  to  his  ships, 
converted  into  cars,  a  continuous  course  unknown  to  all  former 
times.  Let  us  make  the  iron  road,  and  make  it  from  sea  to  sea ; 
States  and  individuals  making  it  east  of  the  Mississippi,  the  nation 
making  it  west.  Let  us  now,  in  this  convention,  rise  above  every 
thing  sectional,  personal,  local;  let  us  beseech  the  national  legis- 
lature to  build  the  great  road  upon  the  great  national  line  which 
unites  Europe  and  Asia — the  line  which  will  find  on  our  continent 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco  at  one  end,  St.  Louis  in  the  middle,  the 
national  metropolis  and  great  commercial  emporiums  at  the  other ; 
and  which  shall  be  adorned  with  its  crowning  honor,  the  colossal 
statue  of  the  great  Columbus,  whose  design  it  accomplishes,  hewn 
from  the  granite  mass  of  a  peak  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  overlook- 
ing the  road,  the  mountain  itself  the  pedestal  and  the  statue  a  part 
of  the  mountain,  pointing,  with  outstretched  arm,  to  the  western 
horizon,  and  saying  to  the  flying  passenger,  '  There  is  the  East ; 
there  is  India ! '  " 

This  has  been  consummated;  and  is  it  all  that  is 
to  be  ?  We  answer,  No  !  Almost  every  daily  revolu- 
tion of  the  earth  upon  its  axis  develops  some  new  idea, 
some  improvement  upon  what  has  already  been  accom- 
plished in  bringing  the  railroad  and  its  auxiliary,  the 
locomotive,  nearer  and  nearer  to  a  state  of  perfec- 
tion. Within  the  last  few  years  the  construction  of  the 
narrow  gauge  has,  as  we  may  almost  say,  been  conceived 
and  sprung  into  existence,  and,  from  experiments  made, 
it  has  been  demonstrated  to  a  certainty  to  possess  all 
the  advantages  that  could  have  been  conceived,  even 
exceeding  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  its  pro- 
jectors, and  deciding  its  ultimate  success. 

The  future  improvement  in  the  locomotive,  when 
fully  consummated,  before  another  half  century  shall 
pass  away,  will  confer  upon  man  nearly  as  much  new 
power  and  new  enjoyment  as  if  he  were  actually  en- 
dowed with  wings. 


LOCOMOTIVE-WORKS.  .  223 

The  locomotive  is  truly  the  king  of  machines  and  a 
permanent  realization  of  the  genii  of  the  Eastern  fable, 
whose  supernatural  powers  were  at  the  command  of  man. 
When  the  next  fifty  years  have  rolled  around,  how  little  . 
will  men  think  of  what  we  now  call  distance !  The 
term  will  be  obsolete  in  our  vocabulary,  and  become 
entirely  forgotten. 


CHAPTER  XLI 


LOCOMOTIVE- WOKKS. 


When  we  contemplate  the  progress  made  in  loco- 
motives within  the  last  forty  years,  how  forcibly  comes 
to  our  mind  the  old  but  often  the  very  truthful  saying, 
"  From  small  beginnings  great  results  sometimes  turn 
out !  " 

Let  us  look  back  to  the  year  1830,  to  Mr.  Peter 
Cooper's  experimental  locomotive,  the  "  Tom  Thumb," 
and  in  the  same  year  to  Colonel  Miller's  contract  to 
construct,  for  the  South  Carolina  Railroad,  a  locomo- 
tive to  perform  at  the  rate  of  ten  miles  an  hour,  and 
draw  fifteen  tons'  weight.  This  required,  for  construc- 
tion, several  months  at  the  West  Point  Foundery 
Works.  None  of  the  beautiful  machinery  of  the 
present  day,  for  every  department  of  mechanical  labor, 
was  then  dreamed  of,  and  the  only  tools  at  command 
were  the  rasp,  the  anvil,  and  sledge.  Compare  that 
work  with  the  magnificent  system  which  characterizes 
the  locomotive  works  of  the  present  day.  Compare 
that  with  what  we  witnessed  a  few  days  ago  in  a  visit 


224        HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

and  examination  of  one  of  the  principal  works  devoted 
to  the  manufacture  of  that  powerful  machine.  We 
allude  to  the  locomotive-works  in  the  ancient  city 
of  Schenectady,  with  a  representation  of  which  we 
present  our  readers.  Schenectady  is  one  of  the  old- 
est cities  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  one  of 
the  points  of  termination  of  the  first  railroad  ever  built 
in  the  State — that  very  same  road  over  which  the  first 
passenger  train  drawn  "by  a  locomotive  in  the  State  was 
run  in  1831,  which  event  we  have  fully  described  in  a 
former  chapter,  and  Schenectady  can  now  point  with 
pride  to  having  in  its  limits  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  perfect  works  for  the  construction  of  the  locomo- 
tive to  be  found  in  America  or  in  the  world. 

How  few  individuals  who  journey  thousands  of 
miles  upon  a  railroad  ever  give  a  passing  thought  to 
the  origin  and  history  of  that  most  powerful  machine 
by  which  they,  are  spirited  along,  as  it  were,  annihilat- 
ing both  time  and  distance !  We  are  often  surprised 
at  the  want  of  interest  displayed  by  them  in  the  con- 
templation of  the  iron  horse,  if  we  may  so  call  it,  who 
draws  them  along  as  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  to  their 
destination.  We,  ourselves,  always  like  to  stare  at  the 
giant  locomotive.  For  us  it  possesses  any  amount  of 
school-boy  fascination.  If  we,  when  travelling,  have  a 
few  moments  to  spare  at  the  depot,  we  are  sure  to  find 
ourselves  strolling  in  the  direction  of  the  engine  and 
contemplating,  in  silent  admiration  and  wonder,  its 
immense  size,  its  strength,  and  its  marvellous  power 
and  construction.  We  look  back  and  think  of  the 
old-fashioned  four-horse  coach  of  former  times,  and 
contrast  the  sound  of  the  tin  horn  with  the  steam- 
whistle,  the  old  chain  skid  with  the  Creamer  brake ; 
the  compliments  of  the  passengers  to  the  heavy-coated 


LOCOMOTIVE-WOKKS.  225 

coachman  on  his  making  twelve  miles  an  hour,  and  the 
coolness  with  which  we  now  travel  thirty,  thirty-five, 
and  even  fifty  miles  an  hour  with  the  locomotive. 
Our  forefathers  did  not  believe  at  first  in  the  locomo- 
tive. The  wise  men  of  fifty  years  ago  regarded  rail- 
roads by  steam  beyond  the  reach  of  practical  science. 
We  gave  our  readers  in  a  former  portion  of  our  work 
Chancellor  Livingston's  letter  to  Colonel  Stevens,  of 
Hoboken,  as  a  specimen  of  public  opinion  of  that  time. 
"What  would  Chancellor  Livingston  say  now  about  the 
locomotive  crossing  the  American  Continent  on  its  rail- 
road in  six  days  and  a  half,  when  he  doubted  Stevens's 
project  of  loads  of  five  tons  carried  on  proposed  rail- 
roads at  five  miles  an  hour !  What  would  the  chancel- 
lor say  now  to  our  present  freight-engines,  weighing, 
as  they  frequently  do,  over  forty  tons  each,  and  draw- 
ing a  train  of  a  hundred  cars,  each  with  a  load  of  eight 
tons  of  merchandise,  in  all  one  thousand  tons;  and 
what  would  he  say,  if  now  alive,  and  he  were  to  be 
told  that  the  Schenectady  Locomotive  Works  here  in 
his  own  State,  and  the  works  we  visited  a  few  days 
ago,  turned  out  one  of  such  engines  every  three  days 
throughout  the  year !  These  locomotives,  too,  are  not 
like  the  playthings  of  forty  years  ago — Peter  Cooper's 
Tom  Thumb,  for  instance,  which  we  have  described  in 
a  former  chapter,  which,  on  August  28,  1830,  per- 
formed the  astonishing  feat  of  outrunning  a  horse-car 
on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  in  a  contest  for  the 
trial  of  speed ;  or  the  first  locomotive  built  for  actual 
service  on  a  railroad  in  America,  The  Best  Friend,  of 
Charleston,  the  contract  for  which  was  that  it  should 
run  ten  miles  an  hour  and  draw  three  times  its  weight, 
and  from  the  president's  report  after  its  trials,  that  "  it 
had  exceeded  their  most  sanguine  expectations,  draw- 


226        HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

ing  fifty  passengers  at  fifteen  miles  an  hour  on  the 
straight  and  level  parts  of  their  road."  Not  such  lo- 
comotives as  these,  but  we  alluded  to  the  first-class 
locomotives  of  the  present  day.  Schenectady  can  point 
with  pride  to  her  locomotive-works,  established  now 
over  twenty-one  years.  These  works  are  situated  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  depot,  between  the  Cen- 
tral and  Saratoga  Railroad  tracks. 

The  building  devoted  to  the  machine  and  erecting 
shops  is  of  two  stories,  most  substantially  built,  and 
is  350  feet  long  by  80  wide.  The  machine-shops  are 
perfectly  bewildering.  Looking  down  their  length, 
the  various  machines  used  for  the  work  look  like 
groves  of  trees,  from  which  all  the  branches  have  been 
cut,  leaving  only  the  trunks.  Here  in  the  two  shops  is 
a  respectable  list  of  these  machines,  and  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  each  and  every  one  of  them  is  most 
elaborate  and  costly.  Sixty  turning-lathes.  A  turn- 
ing-lathe for  iron  with  its  cold  chisel  gives  a  forcible 
expression  of  the  scriptural  idea,  "iron  entering  the 
soul."  It  grinds  its  sharp  edge  mercilessly  into  the 
metal,  and  turns  out  shavings  too  hot  to  handle. 
There  are  fifty  iron  planes,  thirty  drill-presses,  fifteen 
bolt-cutters,  seven  slotting  and  five  shearing  machines, 
and  all  these  of  the  newest  and  most  approved  patents. 
In  the  erecting  shops  we  saw  the  locomotive  in  every 
stage  of  construction,  from  the  boiler-sheet  until  its 
name  has  been  painted  on  the  tender,  before  it  starts 
out  on  its  rushing  journey  through  locomotive  life. 
"When  we  visited  these  works  on  our  tour  of  investiga- 
tion a  few  weeks  since,  we  saw  eleven  locomotives  in 
course  of  erection,  besides  several  in  the  repair  and 
painting  shops,  and  two  ready  to  go  out.  About  sixty 
days  are  occupied  in  building  an  engine  from  the  time 


LOCOMOTIVE-WORKS.  227 

the  flat  iron  plates  go  into  the  boiler-shops  until  the 
entire  machine  is  completed  in  all  its  various  parts  and 
ready  for  firing  up  in  active  service.  An  engine  varies 
in  weight  from  40,000  to  80,000  pounds,  and,  if  it  be  a 
large  one,  with  its  tender  will  not  weigh  less  than 
125,000  pounds.  The  weight  of  a  single  driving-wheel 
is  1,800  pounds,  and  the  machine  will  cost  from 
$10,000  to  $18,000. 

The  progress  of  engine-building  may,  to  a  certain 
extent,  be  judged  of  from  their  progressive  cost.  Of 
the  cost  of  the  earlier  locomotives  it  would  be  idle  to 


make  a  comparison ;  but  thirty  years  ago  the  building 
of  locomotives  had  come  to  years  of  discretion,  though 
far  from  maturity.  In  1842  the  average  cost  of  a 
locomotive  was  $6,500;  in  1852,  $7,500;  in  1862, 
$8,500,  and  in  1872,  about  $11,500.  An  engine,  with 
fair  wear  and  tear,  will  last  ten  or  eleven  years. 

There  are  some  interesting  points  with  regard  to 
the  construction  of  engines  at  the  Schenectady  works. 
The  framework  of  the  tenders  is  all  made  of  iron, 
which,  in  addition  to  giving  greatly  increased  strength, 
considerably  decreases  the  weight  of  the  tender ;  the 
wooden  beams,  formerly  in  use,  requiring  to  be  very 
massive  and  cumbrous  in  order  to  stand  the  jar  and 


228         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN"  AMERICA. 

strain  on  them.  Some  of  the  drills  are  marvellous ;  we 
saw  on  our  visit  steam-drills  drilling  the  great  cast- 
steel  plates,  through  which  all  the  boiler  flues  open 
into  the  furnace.  The  plates  are  half  an  inch  in  thick- 
ness, and  the  holes  two  and  one-sixteenth  inches  in 
diameter.  But  this  operation  of  drilling  so  large  a 
hole  in  solid  cast-steel  (it  is  done  in  less  than  five 
minutes)  must  be  seen  to  be  fully  appreciated.  In  the 
blacksmith's  shop  it  is  most  interesting  to  watch  the 
forging  together  of  the  huge  iron  beams  which  form 
the  pedestals  of  the  engine ;  not  the  least  astonishing 
part  of  it,  the  precision  with  which  the  smiths  wield 
their  ponderous  sledge-hammers,  often  weighing  twenty- 
nine  or  thirty  pounds,  and  strike  the  exact  spot  point- 
ed out  to  them  by  the  foreman. 

In  the  boiler-shop  there  is  a  new  and  most  power- 
ful machine  for  riveting  the  seams  of  the  boiler.  The 
old  method  was  for  a  man  inside  the  boiler  to  pass  a 
red-hot  bolt  with  one  hand  through  the  punched  holes, 
and  for  two  men  to  pound  the  protruding  part  into  an 
outside  head  with  hammers.  The  new  method  is  car- 
ried out  by  machinery.  The  boiler  is  hoisted,  end 
upward,  over  a  side  anvil,  in  which  is  a  die  fitting  the 
existing  head  of  the  red-hot  bolt.  When  the  man 
inside  the  boiler  has  put  the  bolt  through  the  hole,  he 
turns  the  boiler  so  that  the  bolt-head  fits  into  the  die. 
A  powerful  steam  hammer,  with  a  corresponding  die, 
is  driven  with  immense  force  against  the  outside  end  of 
the  bolt,  in  a  moment  pressing  it  into  shape.  This  has 
the  additional  advantage  of  pressing  the  two  plates 
tightly  together,  at  the  very  moment  the  second  bolt- 
head  on  the  outside  is  formed. 

Besides  the  erecting  and  machine  shops,  there  are 
the  blacksmith-shop,  225  by  70  feet;  boiler-shop,  150 


LOCOMOTIVE-WOKKS.  229 

"by  95  feet ;  iron  and  brass  founderies,  pattern  and 
carpenter  shops.  There  is  also  a  building  where  there 
are  "  stalls "  for  ten  engines.  We  suppose  the  iron 
horse  is  entitled  to  its  stall  the  same  as  any  other 
horse.  Increased  facilities  for  engine-building  have 
lately  been  introduced  into  the  works,  and  it  is  antici- 
pated that  the  works  will  turn  out  at  least  120  locomo- 
tives during  the  current  year.  As  it  is,  the  company 
keep  constantly  employed  from  700  to  800  men,  and 
have  supplied  engines  to  and  have  orders  now  from 
every  section  of  the  United  States  and  South  America. 

In  the  brief  space  allotted  to  us  in  our  present 
work,  we  are  unable  to  describe  and  follow  out  more 
fully  the  great  facilities  brought  into  successful  use  by 
this  company  in  the  construction  of  the  locomotive, 
this  wonderful  invention  of  the  present  century.  A 
week  could  be  pleasantly  and  profitably  occupied  in  a 
ramble  through  the  various  departments  of  these  ex- 
tensive works,  and  a  quire  of  paper  would  be  needed 
to  chronicle  all  that  would  be  seen  to  interest  and  in- 
struct. 

These  works  furnish  with  promptness  and  dispatch 
the  best  and  most  improved  coal  and  wood  burning 
locomotives,  and  all  railroad  machinery,  tires,  etc.,  etc., 
and  also  do  repairs  and  rebuild  locomotives  ;  and  their 
works,  being  located  on  the  New  York  Central  Rail- 
road, near  the  centre  of  the  State,  possess  superior 
facilities  for  forwarding  their  work  to  any  part  of  the 
country.  John  C.  Ellis  is  president,  Walter  Mc- 
Queen is  superintendent,  and  Charles  G.  Ellis  is  treas- 
urer. 


230        HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN   AMERICA. 


CHAPTEE    XLII. 

CAR- WORKS. 

Following  close  upon  the  footsteps  of  the  locomo- 
tive in  its  progress  toward  that  perfection  it  has  at- 
tained at  the  present  day,  conies  that  necessary  append- 
age in  all  the  various  uses  to  which  it  is  applied, 
from  the  plain  and  substantial  freight-car,  capable  of 
transporting  with  ease  and  safety  its  tons  of  valuable 
merchandise,  the  products  of  the  industry  of  the  mill- 
ions of  our  people,  up  to  the  magnificent  passenger 
palace-cars  of  the  present  day,  vying  with  each  other 
in  every  thing  that  could  contribute  to  the  pleasures 
and  comfort  of  the  travelling  occupant.  The  introduc- 
tion of  the  railroad  and  its  concomitants  has  developed 
and  given  employment  to  thousands  in  those  branches 
of  mechanical  industry  unknown  and  not  dreamed  of 
half  a  century  gone  by.  In  one  particular  we  allude 
to  the  extensive  railroad-car  works  of  the  present  day. 
Most  prominent  among  these  branches  of  industry  and 
enterprise  stand  the  complete  and  well-appointed  car- 
works  of  Messrs.  Gilbert,  Bush  &  Co.,  at  Troy,  New 
York. 

Being  in  Troy  a  few  weeks  since,  the  author  paid  a 
visit  of  observation  to  these  extensive  works,  and,  with 
a  friend,  well  posted  in  the  ramifications  of  the  estab- 
lishment, as  a  guide,  made  a  minute  examination  of 
every  department  of  the  extensive  and  well-arranged 
premises,  from  which  we  gather  the  following  facts : 

The  Green  Island  Car  Works,  as  they  are  familiarly 
known,  being  situated  on  that  island  between  East  and 
West  Troy,  date  their  origin  from  the  early  history  of 


III  H 


CAR-WORKS.  231 

manufacturing  in  this  section.  About  sixty  years  ago 
an  unpretending  manufactory  for  building  carriages 
and  stages  was  started  on  Sixth  Street,  in  Troy,  on  the 
present  site  of  the  Union  Depot.  In  a  very  few  years 
this  manufactory  became  extensively  known  to  the  dif- 
ferent stage  companies  throughout  the  country,  as  one 
of  the  most  reliable  existing  sources  of  supply  for  the 
vehicles  which  formed  an  important  part  of  their  equip- 
ments for  facilitating  travel.  The  term  "  Troy  stages  " 
became  a  synonym e  for  strength,  elegance,  and  durabil- 
ity, and  the  work  of  the  concern  was  to  be  found  run- 
ning in  all  parts  of  the  nation — even  in  the  extreme 
Southern  States.  In  the  early  beginning  of  the  street- 
car introduction  into  our  principal  cities,  that  new 
branch  of  business  was  added  to  the  stage  and  carriage 
works,  Sixth  Street,  the  firm  of  Eaton  &  Gilbert  fur- 
nishing the  new  instrument  of  conveyance  used  in  the 
city  of  Boston  for  many  years  after  their  introduction, 
and  nearly  monopolized  the  patronage  of  the  leading 
lines  in  New  York  City. 

In  February,  1853,  the  erection  of  the  Green  Island 
car-shops  was  commenced;  but  previous  to  this  the 
firm  of  Eaton  &  Gilbert  had  become  thoroughly  iden- 
tified with  the  inauguration  and  progress  of  steam  rail- 
roading in  this  country. 

One  of  the  senior  members  of  the  present  firm  of 
Gilbert,  Bush  &  Co.  assisted  Mr.  James  Goold  in  the 
construction  of  the  pioneer  train  of  cars,  the  primitive 
apparatus  that  had  the  honor  of  conveying,  with 
others,  the  renowned  Thurlow  Weed  over  the  Mohawk 
&  Hudson  Railroad,  on  the  occasion  of  the  memorable 
experimental  trip  between  Albany  and  Schenectady,  a 
sketch  of  which  locomotive,  cars,  and  passengers  was 
made  upon  the  spot  at  the  time  by  the  author  of  this 


232        HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 

history,  and  afterward  presented  to  the  Connecticut  His- 
torical Society,  at  Hartford. 

At  the  time  Eaton  <fc  Gilbert  transferred  their  base 
of  operations  from  Troy  to  Green  Island,  the  latter 
place  was  comparatively  little  better  off  as  regards 
population  than  the  legendary  habitation  of  one  Rob- 
inson Crusoe  is  reported  to  have  been.  But  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Green  Island  car-shops  inaugurated  a  new 
era.  The  employes  of  the  company  reejuired  homes 
convenient  to  the  scene  of  their  labors,  and  building 
improvements  became  the  order  of  the  day;  and  at 
present  it  is  safe  to  assert  that  Green  Island  is  one  of 
the  most  flourishing  suburbs  of  the  city  of  Troy,  a 
result  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Green  Island 
Car  "Works  have  there  established  "  a  local  habitation 
and  a  name." 

In  August,  1864,  the  car- works  were  almost  entire- 
ly destroyed  by  fire;  but  the  proprietors,  nothing 
daunted  by  the  calamity,  immediately  proceeded  to  re- 
build the  establishment  upon  a  new  and  improved  plan. 
It  now  covers  an  area  of  ground  measuring  over  eight 
acres,  and  is  one  of  the  most  complete  manufactories 
the  author  has  ever  seen,  and  he  has  seen  many  in  his 
day  throughout  the  country. 

The  facilities  for  transportation  and  for  the  receipt 
of  the  immense  quantities  of  coal,  iron,  and  lumber 
used,  are  unsurpassed.  A  dock  frontage  of  six  hun- 
dred feet  on  the  Mohawk  Basin  furnishes  easy  commu- 
nication with  the  Hudson  River  and  Erie  Canal.  The 
Rensselaer  &  Saratoga  Railroad,  running  close  to  the 
works,  supplies  accommodations  for  running  cars  on 
their  own  wheels  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Canadas  accessible  by  rail. 

The  reputation  of  this  firm  for  manufacturing  su- 


CAR-WORKS.  233 

perior  woik  is  not  confined  to  the  United  States  or 
Canada,  but  has  long  since  penetrated  into  South 
America,  Mexico,  and  other  distant  countries.  In  the 
early  days  of  steam  railroading  in  South  America, 
English  manufacturers  nearly  monopolized  the  patron- 
age in  this  line  of  that  country ;  but,  since  that  time, 
foreign  competition  has  been  placed  at  defiance  by 
Gilbert,  Bush  &  Co.,  and  now  the  arrival  of  an  English 
car  is  a  rarity  in  the  southern  portion  of  our  hemi- 
sphere. 

In  passing  through  the  works  a  few  weeks  since, 
our  attention  was  attracted  to  a  very  peculiar  style  of 
car,  intended  for  shipment  to  Chili.  Although  in  some 
respects  similar  to  our  regular  passenger-car,  this  is 
furnished  with  state-rooms  like  those  of  a  drawing- 
room  car.  It  is  elaborately  finished  in  mahogany,  and 
presents  a  handsome  appearance. 

The  cars  intended  to  be  shipped  to  distant  parts, 
unlike  those  used  in  this  region,  are  made  in  sections, 
for  the  purpose  of  allowing  them  to  be  packed  in  a 
very  small  compass  for  transportation.  We  saw  on 
our  visit,  ready  for  shipment,  the  sides,  ends,  tops,  and 
floors,  of  fifteen  cars  all  packed  in  less  space  than  one 
car  would  occupy  when  put  together.  Each  of  these 
cars,  preparatory  to  shipment,  is  put  together  in  the 
works.  Each  hole  and  mortice  is  made  according  to 
standard  scales,  so  that,  in  case  of  the  loss  of  any  part 
of  the  car  in  the  process  of  transportation,  a  duplicate 
can  be  immediately  forwarded,  on  application  of  the 
purchaser.  Each  piece,  as  well  as  the  boxes,  contain- 
ing the  small  iron- work,  such  as  screws,  bolts,  etc.,  is 
numbered  and  registered  at  the  ofiice.  As  many  as 
forty  cars  have  been  shipped  in  an  ordinary  canal 
freight-barge,  and  on  arriving  at  New  York  the  con- 


234         HISTORY   OF  THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

tents  of  these  barges  are  transferred  to  ships  bound 
for  such  countries  as  Mexico  and  South  America.  The 
cars  from  this  concern  are  extensively  ordered  from 
Chili  and  Peru,  and  no  car-factory  in  the  world  is  bet- 
ter known  to  projectors  of  railroads  in  South  America 
than  that  of  Gilbert,  Bush  <fc  Co. 

There  is  a  wonderful  difference  between  the  first 
steam-cars  in  early  times  and  the  rolling  palaces  now 
turned  out  by  this  establishment.  They  are  continu- 
ally turning  out  for  Mr.  Wagner  the  finest  sleeping-cars 
ever  run  upon  a  road,  with  all  the  approved  novelties 
yet  developed,  and  vast  improvements  upon  the  first 
sleeping-cars.  To  be  "  rocked  in  the  cradle  of  the 
deep  "  is  all  very  nice,  and  extremely  poetic ;  but  the 
idea  of  seeking  "  tired  Nature's  sweet  restorer  "  through 
that  lulling  influence,  the  gentle  motion  of  a  palatial, 
comfortable  Wagner  sleeping-car,  as  it  skims  along  like 
a  streak  of  lightning  on  wheels,  suits  much  better,  in 
these  days  of  fast  travelling,  the  practical  fancy  of  your 
American  business-man.  The  construction  of  sleeping- 
cars  forms  a  prominent  feature  in  the  operations  of 
Gilbert,  Bush  &  Co. ;  but  all  other  vehicles  are  manu- 
factured by  them.  They  make  all  sizes,  to  suit  the 
different  gauges,  and  their  prices  range  from  $500  to 
$18,000  per  car.  The  immense  buildings  of  the  con- 
cern are  substantial  two-story  brick  structures.  If 
placed  end  to  end,  these  would  reach  a  distance  of  over 
two  miles.  The  railroad-tracks  connecting  the  different 
buildings  have  turn-tables  for  handling  the  cars  as  they 
progress  toward  completion,  and  will  aggregate  one 
mile  in  length.  When  necessary,  the  firm  find  room 
for  manufacturing  eighty  cars  at  a  time.  All  the  iron 
used  is  either  cast  in  the  founclery  of  the  firm  or  forged 
in  their  own  blacksmith-shop. 


CAR-WORKS.  235 

The  multifarious  mechanical  operations  of  the  con- 
cern are  particularly  suggestive.  Here  are  different 
departments  for  cabinet-makers,  wood-workers,  mould- 
ers, blacksmiths,  machinists,  plumbers,  silver-platers, 
upholsterers,  painters,  lantern-makers  —  ten  distinct 
kinds  of  business,  and  each  department  larger  than 
many  a  respectable  manufactory  in  the  country. 

Among  the  patrons  of  this  firm  are  numbered  a 
large  majority  of  the  most  substantial  railroad  com- 
panies in  the  United  States — those  who  prefer  to  pay 
and  are  able  to  pay  a  fair  price  for  a  first-class  car. 
One  secret  of  the  reputation  of  the  firm  is,  that  no 
inferior  or  careless  workmen  are  ever  retained  in  their 
employ. 

The  force  of  hands  employed  ranges  from  350  to 
400.  Of  iron,  over  3,600  tons  are  yearly  worked  up  ; 
and  of  lumber,  2,500,000  feet.  Only  the  most  perfectly 
seasoned  lumber  is  allowed  to  enter  into  the  composi- 
tion of  the  cars.  They  use  extensively  black  walnut, 
Georgia  pine,  white-wood,  oak,  and  many  other  cost- 
ly varieties  of  lumber.  One  of  the  equipments  of 
their  thoroughly  appointed  lumber-yard  is  worthy  of 
notice.  It  is  used  for  drying  the  lumber  by  steam,  and 
consists  of  an  immense  horizontal  cylinder  of  iron. 
The  lumber  submitted  to  the  action  of  this  apparatus 
becomes  as  dry  in  fifteen  minutes  as  if  exposed  to  the 
open  air  for  two  or  three  years. 

The  firm  of  Gilbert,  Bush  &,  Co.  consists  of  Uri 
Gilbert,  Walter  E.  Bush,  Wni.  E.  Gilbert,  Walter  E. 
Bush,  Jr.,  and  Edward  G.  Gilbert.  Mr.  Uri  Gilbert, 
the  senior  partner,  has  been  connected  with  the  concern 
for  over  fifty  years.  He  has  seen  American  steam  rail- 
roading grow  up  from  a  mere  experiment  to  its  present 
wonderful  proportions,  and  has  also  enjoyed  the  gratifi- 


236         HISTORY   OF   THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

cation  of  knowing  that  the  establishment  of  which  he 
is  the  head  was  keeping  pace  with  that  marvellous 
growth. 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 

STREET-CAR    WORKS. 

The  facility  presented  for  the  transportation  of 
passengers  from  one  city  to  another  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  great  achievement  of  the  present  half-cen- 
tury, the  railroad,  became  so  soon  apj3arent  that  from 
its  earliest  beginnings,  and  even  before  it  had  emerged 
from  its  infancy  or  attained  its  present  stage  of  perfec- 
tion, the  public  became  clamorous  for  its  introduction 
into  the  streets  and  thoroughfares  of  our  principal  cities. 
They  soon  became  dissatisfied  with  the  old-fashioned 
stage  and  omnibus  and  all  the  other  primitive  means 
of  conveyance,  such  as  our  forefathers  indulged  in,  and 
regarded  as  luxuries  in  transportation.  These  (to  the 
present  generation)were  considered  as  too  far  behind  the 
times,  and  should  be  immediately  dispensed  with,  to 
make  way  for  the  railroad  and  street  cars.  This  change 
was  soon  accomplished.  The  experiment  was  tried,  and 
has  now  become  an  indispensable  necessity.  When  we 
now  experience  how  comparatively  close  together  the 
most  distant  parts  of  our  extensive  cities  are  brought  by 
this  great  instrumentality,  the  railroad  and  street  car, 
the  wonder  is  how  our  forefathers  were  content  so  long 
without  them.  Forty  or  fifty  passengers  sometimes 
ride  upon  a  single  car,  when  heretofore  a  dozen  was 
the  ultimatum  of  an  omnibus  or  old-fashioned  lumber- 
ing stage-coach,  the  only  means  of  cheap  transportation 
from  place  to  place  throughout  our  cities. 


STREET-CAR  WORKS. 


237 


The  first  charter  for  what  are  termed  city  passenger 
or  horse  railroads  was  obtained  in  the  city  of  New 
York  and  known  as  the  New  York  &  Harlem,  and  this 
was  the  first  road  of  the  kind  ever  constructed,  and  was 
opened  in  1832.  A  portion  of  it  within  the  city  limits, 
that  portion  below  Twenty-seventh  Street  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  was  always  worked  by  horse-power.  No 
other  road  of  the  kind  was  completed  till  1852,  when 
the  Sixth  Avenue  was  opened  to  the  public.  This  was 
followed  in  1853  by  the  Second  and  Third  Avenues,  in 
1854  by  the  Eighth,  and  in  1859  by  the  Ninth  Avenue. 

The  success  of  these  roads  is  a  remarkable  illustra- 
tion of  their  adaptedness  to  the  wants  of  large  cities, 


and  they  have  since  been  adopted  and  introduced  in 
every  city  of  any  size  in  the  United  States,  and,  indeed, 
throughout  the  civilized  world. 

The  saving  effected  by  city  passenger  roads  over 
the  cost  of  transportation  of  passengers  in  cities  in 
coaches  and  omnibus  is  as  great  as  that  effected  by  the 
railroad  over  the  ordinary  highway. 

The  first  passenger-car  for  street  railroad  purposes 

was  built  by  Mr.  John  Stephenson,  the  senior  partner  of 

the  now  extensive  and  enterprising  firm  of  John  Ste- 
16    V 


238         HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN   AMERICA 

phenson<fc  Co.,  organized  in  1867,  and  located  at  No.  47 
Twenty-seventh  Street,  New  York.  This  first  street- 
car was  named,  in  compliment  to  the  president  of  the 
company,  the  "  John  Mason."  To  Mr.  Stephenson  we  are 
indebted  for  the  beautiful  cut  representing  this  pioneer 
in  street  railroad  cars.  The  driver  of  this  car  was  a 
well-known  knight  of  the  whip,  Lank  O'Dell,  who  al- 
ways drove  a  pair  of  gray  horses. 

The  first  trial  or  experimental  trip  was  a  most  im- 
portant affair  in  New  York.  The  road  commenced 
about  Prince  Street  and  the  Bowery,  and  extended  to 
Harlem  Bridge.  On  this  occasion  the  streets  along  the 
route  were  crowded  with  spectators.  Two  cars  were 
ready  for  the  occasion,  Lank  and  his  grays  taking 
the  lead  with  the  beautiful  pioneer,  John  Mason,  and 
occupied  by  the  mayor  and  members  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil; while  the  second  car,  driven  by  a  hackman  (his 
name  not  now  remembered),  and  filled  with  some  of 
the  city  officials  and  invited  guests,  brought  up  the  rear. 

Great  apprehensions  were  expressed  by  some  of  the 
passengers  and  many  of  the  spectators  that  the  trouble 
would  be  in  bringing  these  cars  to  a  stand-still  at  any 
desired  point  to  avoid  any  accident  that  might  occur  in 
the  crowded  thoroughfares  of  the  city. 

An  old  citizen,  who  witnessed  this  first  experiment 
trip,  related  an  incident  that  occurred  on  the  occasion, 
which,  though  it  resulted  in  nothing  serious  or  fatal  in 
its  consequences,  must  have  been  ludicrous  in  the  ex- 
treme. The  vice-president  of  the  road,  Mr.  John  Lo- 
zier,  being  very  desirous  of  removing  all  apprehensions 
from  the  minds  of  the  doubtful,  and  anxious  to  exhibit 
the  great  facility  with  which  the  cars  could  be  brought 
to  a  dead  halt  in  an  instant  when  running  at  fall  speed, 
and  all  danger  of  collision  with  vehicles  in  the  street 
rendered    impossible,    determined   on   an   experiment. 


STREET-CAR  WORKS.  239 

He  posted  O'Dell  and  the  hack-driver  of  the  second 
car  to  watch  him,  and  look  out  for  the  signal,  and,  in- 
viting a  number  of  the  spectators  to  witness  the  ex- 


periment, he  placed  himself  somewhere  about  the  cor- 
ner of  the  Bowery  and  Bond  Street.  As  the  first  car 
approached,  he  raised  his  arm  and  gave  the  signal  to 


240         HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

stop.  O'Dell,  who,  with  his  grays,  had  some  previous 
practice,  while  hauling  materials  in  the  construction  of 
the  road,  performed  to  the  admiration  of  the  specta- 
tors, and  had  just  come  to  a  halt,  when  the  second  car 
approached  rapidly.  The  vice-president  gave  the  sig- 
nal to  stop ;  but  the  hackman,  unpractised  in  the  duty, 
forgot  the  lever,  but  drew  hard  his  lines,  and  shouted 
"  Whoa ! "  but  too  late — the  tongue  of  his  car  went  crash- 
ing through  the  rear  of  the  John  Mason,  and  the  mayor 
and  City  Council  beat  a  retreat  in  double-quick  time 
and  in   disorder  from  the  dilapidated  car,  amid  the 


laughter  of  the  surrounding  spectators.  The  danger 
over,  and  nobody  hurt,  the  excursionists  resumed  their 
seats  and  the  cavalcade  proceeded  on  the  way  toward 
Harlem  Bridge,  where  it  arrived  without  any  other 
accident,  in  an  incredibly  short  time. 

This  is  the  first  street-car  collision  on  record,  and 
was  the  subject  of  amusement  to  the  citizens  for  several 
weeks,  and  a  source  of  great  annoyance  to  the  vice- 
president,  especially  when  some  wag  among  his  ac- 
quaintance,  on   seeing  him   afterward   approaching  in 


STREET- CAR  WORKS.  241 

the  street,  would  assume  his  position,  and  personate 
his  action  by  giving  the  signal  for  him  to  stop. 

No  just  appreciation  can  be  formed  of  the  extent  of 
these  car-works  without  a  personal  visit  through  every 
department.  The  author  called  at  the  establishment  a 
few  days  ago,  and  his  attention  was  arrested  immedi- 
ately on  entering  the  great  gate- way,  by  seeing  a  huge 
packing-box  being  elevated  upon  a  strong  truck  drawn 
by  a  powerful  team  of  horses  and  ready  for  its  transit  to 
some  one  of  the  shipping-points  of  the  river.  On  look- 
ing at  the  address,  the  author  was  surprised  to  find  its 
destination  Montevideo,  South  America.  On  alluding- 
to  the  subject,  to  one  of  the  clerks  of  the  establishment, 
the  author  was  shown  the  order-book,  and  there  saw  or- 
ders for  street-cars  of  all  imaginable  patterns  destined 
for  Buenos  Ayres,  Kio  de  Janeiro,  Valparaiso,  Santiago, 
Pisco,  Maranham,  Para,  Porto  Alegre,  Montevideo,  Con- 
cordia, Kosario,  Guayaquil,  London,  Liverpool,  Birken- 
head, Leeds,  Glasgow,  Lisbon,  Brussels,  Copenhagen, 
Vienna,  Java,  and  the  last  order  and  work  in  hand  on 
our  visit  destined  for  Bombay;  and  all  this  accom- 
plished so  quietly,  and  with  such  systematic  regularity 
in  every  department,  that  no  one  could  believe  that  over 
three  hundred  mechanics  were  daily  employed  in  the 
works. 

We  give  our  readers  a  sketch  of  one  of  the  numer- 
ous car-patterns  for  the  South  American  market. 

The  latest  improvement,  and  one  which  is  rapidly 
coming  into  use,  is  the  one-horse  street-car  manufac- 
tured by  this  company.  The  great  economy  in  this  car 
has  become  so  apparent  that  since  its  introduction,  only 
a  dozen  years  since,  over  three  hundred  and  fifty  rail- 
roads have  had  them  built  and  forwarded  by  this  com- 
pany.    We  give  below  a  cut  of  one  of  these  useful 


242 


HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES   IN  AMERICA. 


vehicles,  which  will  strike  the  eye  at  once  by  its  utility 
and  fitness  for  a  particular  service,  where  the  large  two- 
horse  car  would  be  burdensome  and  expensive. 

The  manufacture  of  the  omnibus  is  another  branch 
of  this  extensive  establishment.  The  greatest  variety 
and  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  that  useful  vehicle 
the  "  omnibus  "  are  daily  turned  out  from  their  prem- 
ises. Orders  for  every  variety  of  street-cars  are  con- 
tinually coming  in,  and  it  is  wonderful  with  what  facil- 
ity and  promptness  they  are  executed  and  forwarded 
to  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  We  sincerely  regret 
that  our  limits  here  will  not  permit  us  to  extend  our  de- 
scription further  in  speaking  of  all  we  saw  and  learned 


on  our  visits  to  the  establishment.  The  courteous  and 
gentlemanly  deportment  exhibited  toward  visitors  ren- 
ders the  occasion  both  pleasant  and  instructive. 


GRAND   CENTRAL  DEPOT.  243 

CHAPTER    XLIV. 

GRAND  CENTRAL  DEPOT,  NEW  YORK. 

Within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  while  im- 
provements have  been  marching  on  with  giant  strides 
in  every  department  of  the  railroad  and  its  concomi- 
tants, by  biinging  nearer  and  nearer  to  perfection  that 
powerful  and  indispensable  auxiliary  the  locomotive 
and  its  train  of  cars,  there  has  been  a  march  of  ad- 
vancement onward  in  the  costly  and  splendid  depots  to 
be  seen  in  every  section  of  our  wide-extended  domain, 
vying  with  each  other  in  all  the  conveniences  and 
facilities  which  contribute  so  much  to  the  comfort  of 
the  vast  crowds  assembled  by  day  and  night  awaiting 
the  hours  of  arrival  and  departure  of  the  numerous 
trains.  Prominent  among  these  magnificent  edifices 
stands  the  Grand  Central  Depot,  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  To  Commodore  Yanderbilt,  its  founder  and 
builder,  we  are  indebted  for  the  accompanying  engrav- 
ing representing  that  noble  structure,  and  to  the  New- 
York  Herald  for  the  following  full  description  of  all 
its  various  departments  and  their  uses.  In  describing 
this  beautiful  and  massive  specimen  of  architecture,  the 
Herald  justly  says : 

"  The  Grand  Central  Depot  of  New  York  eclipses 
any  thing  of  the  kind  that  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

"The  Grand  Central  Depot  is  located  fronting  on 
East  Forty-second  Street.  It  is  designed  for  the  perma- 
nent use  of  the  Harlem,  New  York  &  New  Haven  and 
the  New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River  Railroads. 

"This  vast  edifice  covers  nearly  five  acres  within  its 


244        HISTORY   OF  THE   FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

walls.  The  size  of  tlie  roof,  the  intricate  gorgeousness 
of  the  richly-worked  trusswork,  the  brilliant  effect  of 
the  two  acres  of  glass  set  in  the  iron  sashes  of  the  roof, 
and  the  thousand  other  details  combined,  put  the  struct- 
ure on  a  level,  for  vastness  and  grandeur,  with  any 
Old- World  cathedral.  In  this  depot,  which  is  five  feet 
longer  and  many  feet  wider  than  the  Great  Midland 
Depot  in  London,  the  most  perfect  system  yet  seen  in 
America  will  be  perfected  under  the  care  of  depot- 
masters,  who  will  have  charge  of  all  the  details  of 
passenger  transportation  and  all  terminus-work.  Every 
improvement  that  the  human  mind  could  suggest,  and 
that  could  be  procured  by  the  lavish  outlay  of  money, 
has  been  made  available  in  the  new  Union  Depot. 

"The  building  covers  the  area  from  Forty-second 
Street  to  Forty-fifth  Street,  and  from  Fourth  Avenue  to 
a  new  street  intervening  between  the  depot  and  Madi- 
son Avenue. 

"  In  it  there  are  about  one  hundred  rooms  for  differ- 
ent purposes,  all  of  which  are  handsomely  fitted  up 
and  heated  by  steam,  with  gas  and  water.  Each  of 
the  rooms  contains  from  35  to  112  feet  of  vertical 
tube-heating  radiators.  The  offices  are  fitted  up  with 
black- walnut,  oak,  and  ash  wood- work,  and  upholstered 
furniture.  The  depot  contains  ladies'  and  gentlemen's 
restaurants  and  dining-rooms,  in  which  food  of  the  best 
quality  is  served  in  a  style  as  good  as  at  Delmoni- 
co's.  The  floors  below  the  sidewalk  have  a  number  of 
stores,  which  are  rented  out,  with  first-class  barber- 
shops and  hair-dressing  saloons,  bath-rooms,  bar  and 
lunch  rooms,  restaurants  for  ladies,  toilets  for  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  and  every  accommodation  for  the  thou- 
sands of  people  who  get  off  trains  while  waiting  for 
transmission  to  other  roads,  .or  while  waiting  to  leave 
the  city  by  any  of  the  three  roads  above  named. 


GRAND   CENTRAL  DEPOT.  245 

"There  are  also  large  waiting  and  drawing  rooms 
fitted  up  in  the  best  fashion.  The  New  York  &  New 
Haven  Railroad  Company  have  their  offices  on  the 
Forty-second  Street  or  south  front  of  the  building. 
The  New  York  &  Harlem  Railroad  Company  have 
their  offices  on  the  west  side  of  the  building  fronting 
on  the  new  street,  which  is  60  feet  in  width. 

"  These  last  offices,  which  extend  200  feet  north  from 
Forty-second  Street,  and  495  feet  of  the  north  end  of 
the  building,  are  devoted  to  the  offices  of  the  New 
York  Central  Railroad  and  the  Hudson  River  division 
of  the  Central  road.  Part  of  this  end  is  used  as  a 
baggage  department  for  the  Central  Railroad. 

"  The  car-house  proper,  into  which  all  the  trains  run 
and  from  which  they  all  depart,  102  trains  a  day  in 
number,  is  650  feet  long  by  200  feet  wide.  It  is  brill- 
iantly lighted  by  twenty-four  immense  sunlights  hang- 
ing from  the  ceiling,  all  of  which  are  lighted  by  elec- 
tricity. The  roof  of  the  structure  is  supported  by 
sixty-two  heavy  wrought-iron  trusses,  that  add  not  only 
to  the  solidity,  but  also  to  the  beauty  of  the  interior 
of  the  depot.  No  mortar  is  used  in  the  building, 
which  is  entirely  fire-proof,  constructed  of  iron,  glass, 
granite,  and  brick ;  cement  and  concrete  are  used  in- 
stead of  mortar.  There  are  two  acres  of  glass  in  the 
roof  alone.  The  building  is  three  stories  high  above 
the  ground,  making  four  stories  with  the  basement,  and 
cost  about  three  million  dollars.  The  exterior  view  is 
one  of  great  beauty,  the  material  being  red  brick  with 
iron  trimmings,  painted  white  to  give  them  the  appear- 
ance of  marble.  The  structure  is  topped  off  by  four 
small  towers,  and  one  larger  tower  on  the  Forty-second 
Street  front  that  can  be  seen  down  Fourth  Avenue  as 
far  as  Union  Square,  rising  up  gradually  above  the  pile 


246         HISTORY   OF   THE  FIRST   LOCOMOTIVES  IN  AMERICA. 

of  iron,  granite,  and  brick,  that  supports  it.  All  the 
employes  of  the  four  roads  are  uniformed,  and  every 
thing  done  that  would   perfect  the  system  as  far  as 


"At  this  magnificent  depot,  unlike  almost  every 
stopping-place  or  public  landing,  passengers  are  not 
annoyed  by  the  impetuous  importunities  of  porters, 
cab,  hack,  or  omnibus  drivers.  The  most  perfect  sys- 
tem in  this  department  is  observed.  A  strong  body 
of  police,  detailed  expressly  for  this  depot,  are  always 
at  their  post  day  and  night.  No  Jehu  is  permitted  to 
quit  his  seat,  but,  as  soon  as  the  passenger,  escorted  by 
the  police,  selects  the  coach,  the  driver  is  compelled  to 
hand  his  card,  with  the  number.  This  card  the  pas- 
senger will  hand  to  the  porter  of  the  company,  who 
transports  the  luggage  from  the  baggage-room  free  of 
charge.  The  most  perfect  system  is  to  be  seen  in  every 
department.  This  edifice  is  a  monument  of  Commo- 
dore Vanderbilt's  wealth,  and  a  building  in  which  all 
New-Yorkers  take  pride." 


A    New    High-ciass    Magazine   for  Students   and    Cultivated 
Readers. 


POPULAR  SCIENCE  MONTHLY, 

CONDUCTED  BY 

Professor  E.  L.  YOUMANS. 


The  growing  importance  of  scientific  knowledge  to  all  classes  of  the  com- 
munity calls  for  more  efficient  means  of  diffusing  it.  The  Popular  Science 
Monthly  has  been  started  to  promote  this  object,  and  supplies  a  want  met 
by  no  other  periodical  in  the  United  States. 

It  contains  instructive  and  attractive  articles,  and  abstracts  of  articles,  ori- 
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the  applications  of  science  to  the  practical  arts,  and  to  the  operations  of  do- 
mestic life. 

It  will  have  contributions  from  Herbert  Spencer,  Professor  Huxley, 
Professor  Tyndall,  Mr.  Darwin,  and  other  writers  identified  with  specula- 
tive thought  and  scientific  investigation. 


OPINIONS    OF    1TME    PRESS. 

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"  It  is,  beyond  comparison,  the  best  attempt  at  journalism  of  the  kind  ever  made  in  this  country."— 
Home  Journal. 

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Courier. 

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— N.  V.  Tribtine. 

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it" — Oswego  Press. 

"  Not  the  less  entertaining  because  it  is  instructive.  "—Philadelphia  Age. 

"  The  Monthly  has  more  than  fulfilled  all  the  promises  which  the  publishers  made  in  the  prospectus 
of  publication." — Niagara  Falls  Gazette. 

"It  places  before  American  readers  what  the  ablest  men  of  science  throughout  the  world  write  about 
their  meditations,  speculations,  and  discoveries.'*—  Providence  Journal. 


THE  POPULAR  SCIENCE  MONTHLY  is  published  in  a  large  oc- 
tavo, handsomely  printed  on  clear  type.  Terms  :  Five  Dollars  per  annum,  or 
Fifty  Cents  per  copy. 

Any  person  remitting  Twenty  Dollars  for  four  yearly  subscriptions  will  re- 
ceive an  extra  copy  gratis,  or  five  yearly  subscriptions  for  $20.00. 

The  Popular  Science  Monthly  and  Appletons'  Journal  (weekly), 
per  annum,  $8.00. 

Remittances  should  be  made  by  postal  money-order  or  check  to  the 
Publishers, 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO., 

549  &  551  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


I*.  G-.  TIUiOTSOlir  &   CO,, 

MANUFACTURERS,  IMPORTERS,  AND  DEALERS  IN 

Railway  SiiDBlies  &  Teleeranh  Material 

Of  Every  Description, 

No.  8  DEY  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


We  beg  to  call  particular  attention  to  our  Plush  Department,  which  embraces  a 
full  line  of  Plain  and  Figured  Goods,  varying  in  price  from  $50  to  $200  per  piece. 
Our  Plushes  have  been  selected  with  special  care,  for  the  requirements  of  Railroads 
and  Car  Manufacturers. 

CAR-HEAD  LININGS. 

Having  recently  made  large  additions  to  our  Works,  and  employing  only  first- 
class  Artists,  we  are,  now  prepared  to  meet  the  increased  demand  made  upon  us  for 
this  article. 

GAR  TRIMMINGS. 

We  manufacture  and  sell  all  of  the  most  desirable  styles  and  patterns  of  goods 
in  this  line,  embracing  Real  Bronze,  Silver  and  Nickel  Plated  and  Brass,  Car  Locks, 
Buntin's  Celebrated  Car  Seats,  Seat  Mouldings,  Locks,  Seat  Irons,  Arm  Caps  and 
Joint  Bolts,  Silver  and  Brass  Capped  Screws,  Iron  and  Brass  Capped  Screws. 

SPRINGS. 

Sole  Agents  for  the  Patent  Combination  Elliptic  Passenger  and  Freight  Car  Springs. 
"        "  "       Celebrated  Hamilton  Rubber  Springs. 

"        "  "       Mercer  Rubber  Hose,  Packing  and  Belting. 

"        "  "       Mansfield  Patent  Frogs. 

"        "  "       Buffalo  Steam  Gauges  and  Head  Lights. 

"        "  "       Silver  Lake  Manufacturing  Co. 

"        "  "       Westlake  Patent  Adjustable  Globe  Lanterns  and  Car  Lamps, 

Centre  and  Alcove  Lamps,  to  burn  Candles,  Kerosene,  Mineral, 

and  Sperm  Oil. 

VOLUTE  SPRINGS. 

We  keep  constantly  on  hand  a  large  stock  of  these  Springs,  of  all  the  leading 
sizes,  and  can  fill  large  orders  promptly,  at  prices  which  cannot  fail  to  secure  orders. 

HEBBARD  SPRINGS. 

We  are  prepared  to  supply  these  Springs  at  greatly  reduced  prices.  The  above- 
mentioned  Springs  may  be  numbered  among  our  specialties. 

COTTON  WASTE. 

Prepared  expressly  for  Railroad  and  Steamboat  purposes.  Having  an  entire 
store  contiguous  to  our  Warerooms,  expressly  for  this  article,  we  propose  to  keep 
on  hand  such  a  stock  of  the  various  brands  as  will  accommodate  the  wants  of  all 
our  customers. 

In  addition  to  the  articles  enumerated,  we  keep  in  stock  every  article  used  in  all 
departments  of  Railways,  including  Track  and  Contractors'  Material ;  Iron  and  Wood 
Working  Machinery  in  all  varieties;  Telegraph  Wire,  Insulators,  and  Battery 
Materials. 

FOG  SIGNALS. 

We  claim  superiority  in  this  article  over  any  yet  offered,  and  we  invite  our 
friends  to  give  them  a  trial,  for  which  purpose  we  shall  be  happy  to  supply  samples, 
upon  application. 


NATIONAL  WIRE  AND  LANTERN  WORKS, 

Warehouse,  45  Fulton  Street,  New  York. 

HOWARD  &  MOUSE, 

MANTTFACTUEEKS  OF 

BRASS,  COPPER,  AND  IRON  WIRE  CLOTH, 

EIDDLES,  SIEVES,  COAL  AND  SAND  SOEEENS, 
IRON  and  STEEL  Locomotive 

SPARK  WIRE  CLOTH, 
Plain  and  Ornamental  Wire  Work, 

WIRE  FENCE  &  RAILING,     ll! 

limp? 


DOOR  AND  WINDOW 

GUAR 


Wire  Cloth,  partly  unrolled.. 


h=>J3 


ALSO, 

Ship  and  Railroad 
Adjustable  Globe 

LANTERNS. 


Star  Lantern. 


Wo.  3,  Mesh,  No.  10V2  Wire. 


Bank  and  Counter  Hailing:,  No.  12. 


JAMES  H.  LYLES.  WALTER  H.  GILSON. 


LYLES  L  GILSON, 

12  Piatt  Street,  NEW  YOMK, 


DEALERS  IN  AND  IMPORTERS  OF 


RAILROAD 


AND 


TELEGRAPH  SUPPLIES, 

IRON     RAIL, 

Etc.,  Etc. 


OLD    IRON    BOUGHT, 


^T 


MOST    LIBERAL    TERRAS. 


W.  BAILEY,  LANG  &  CO., 

54  CLIFF  STREET,  MEW  YORK, 
102  NORTH  STREET,  BOSTON. 


SI  •   ■  ESS       E3B3  BSS!h  BS   £3 

db  a  a  I  ^  Y1  n  T^a^  IE?  ?l  1  I Q 

LOW  MOOR 

IRON  AND  PLATES, 


CAMMELL'S  CRUCIBLE. 


STEEL     TYRES, 

Rolled  from  Imported  Blooms,  at  Jersey  City. 


VAN  WART  &  icCOY, 


43  Chambers  Street 


Neiv  York  City, 

IMPORTERS  AND  DEALERS  IN 


SUPPLIES    ANB    MATERIALS 


RAILROADS,  iVlAGH&raBSTS,  Etc. 


Cast-Steel  Elliptic  Railway  Springs  made  to  Special   Order   or 
Pattern. 

Railroad  Torpedoes, 

Salter's  Spring-  Balances, 

Gilford  Injectors, 

Hydraulic  and  Screw  Lifting -Jacks,  Traversing 
Jacks,  I* undies,  Shears,  etc, 

THE   "DUPLEX"    LEVER   PUNCH. 

WROUGHT  IRON  TACKLE  BLOCKS,  SOLID  CAST-STEEL 
HAMMERS. 

WESTON'S  DIFFERENTIAL  PULLEY-BLOCK, 

Made  to  lift  from  a  quarter  ton  to  ten  tons,  and  the  weight  will 
remain  suspended  at  any  point. 

WESTON'S  RATCHET  D8ILLS, 

Improved,  simple  in  manufacture,  strong,  and  durable. 


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SOLE   MANUFACTURERS 

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PATENT  SELF-ACTING- 

Lubricators  &  Cups 

.- 

Locomotive  Steam  Chests, 

J  CONNECTING  RODS,  GUIDES,  ECCENTRICS,  I 


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SMALL    CONNECTIONS, 


No.    108    LIBERTY    STREET, 

NEW  FOMM*  A- 

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IDIR.ECTIOKT 

Screw  the  Cup  on  the  top  of  the  Steam  Chest  or  on  the  Steam  Pipe 

Fill  it  with  Oil  or  melted  Tallow  up  to  the  side  hole  of  the  inside  tube,  then  open  the  v 

ready  for  use. 


While  the  engine  is  in  motion, 
to  the  upper  part  of  the  Cup  whei 
produced,  being  heavier  than  the  c  i 
an  equal  amount  of  the  lubricant  t 
through  the  side  hole  near  the  top 
the  lubrication  is  required. 

At  the  end  of  the  day,  or  when 
the  cup,  water,  acids  and  other  imj 
drawn  off  by  the  waste  cock,  and  t 
cant. 

By  lowering  or  raising  the  tube,  I 

oil  is  increased  or  decreased,  hence 

d  consequently  more  or  less  oil 

way  engineers  are  enabled  to  coutr 

The  feeding  of  the  cup  being  cons 
friction  to  a  minimum,  the  effect  of 
of  the  engine,  save  about  three-fouii 
used,  and  a  largo  amount  of  Packin 

An  additional  and  important  ad\ 
of  the  cylinder  from  corrosion,  as  a< 
allowed  to  pass  into  the  cylinder. 

Notice  one  thing: 

There  is  no  opening  at  the  botto<i 
which  no   closing  or  opening  of  til 
been  opened  to  admit  the  steam  to 
ing  automatically  accomplished  9 
steam  in  the  cup,  while  the  engine 


FOE  L000( 

The  perfect  lub: 
gives  to  the  Engin 
control  of  the  thrii 
required,  and  w 
easier  pull. 

In  fact  it  has 
that  an  engine  fun 
will  pull  2  or  3  ca 
than  usual.  The 
produced  reduces 
working  parts  ver 


RELIABILITY 
UNEQW 


:p;rice! 

Size,  In< 
1  11  2         2i 

Plain,         -     -    $4  $6  |8      $10 

With  Yoke, 


Eire  wiiiiAidii, 


FOR      USE. 

about  one  quarter  and  it  is 


steam  passes  up  the  Tube 
condenses,  and  the  water  so 
nks  to  the  bottom  and  lifts 
5  top,  causing  it  to  overflow 
he  Tube  to  the  parts  where 

>il  or  tallow  is  exhausted  in 
ies  remain,  which  should  be 
tp  be  refilled  with  the  lubri- 

ondensing  space  above  the 
e  or  less  water  is  produced, 
sd  to  the  cylinder.  In  this 
e  feeding  of  the  cup. 

and  regular  reduces  internal 
ch  is  to  improve  the  power 
if  the  oil  or  tallow  generally 

ge  gained  is  the  prevention 
md  other  impurities  are  not 


Patent,  October  27th. 


I  ECONOMY 
EDI 


1ST. 

3     '       4 
12  $16 

20  $27 


the  cup,  in  consequence  of 
lve  is  required,  after  it  has 
up  the  tube,  the  feeding  be- 
i  condensing  action  of  the 
motion. 


TIVES. 

ion  obtained 
n  immediate 
valve  when 
onimand  an 

ascertained 
d  with  them 
.-eight)  more 

action  thus 
wear  of  the 
isiderable. 


$45     $60 


Dreyfus'  Patent  Locomotive  Cups. 


LOCOMOTIVE    CUPS. 

Design  Patented  Maech  30,  1869. 
Are  shell-cased,  made  very  ornamental,  constantly  exposing  the  oil  to  view,  and 
are  generally  considered  the  best  ever  used. 

Capacity; 


No. 


ioz, 


Diameter. 

li  in. 

2     " 
2     " 


Height. 


2*  in. 

4     " 


Price 
per  DOZ. 

$36  00 
48  00 
48  00 


48  00 
56  00 


-Shell  Case,  for  small  connections, 
"    36—         "  Eccentrics,        .        .        .1 

"    42 —         "  Connecting  Eods,        .        \\ 

"    42 —         "  Guides  with  Steel  Spindle 

and  Spring, 1^ 

No.  43— Shell  Case,   Regulators  with  Valve 

and  Set  Screw,  to  feed  as  required,      .       1£ 

The  rod  Cups  will  run  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  hundred  miles  with  one  filling, 
and  the  Guide  Cups  seven  hundred  miles  with  one  filling. 

[For  Locomotive  Guides,  without  Eegulating  Valve.] 

Permit  the  spindle  to  extend  helow  the  Guide  far  enough  to  allow  the  Cross- 
Head  to  strike  it,  and  round  the  end  so  that  the  Cross-Head  will  strike  it  in  the 
centre. 

After  properly  adjusting  the  Guide  Spindle  (as  above  directed),  have  them 
taken^out  and  hardened  to  a  degree  that  will  prevent  them  from  wearing. 


Munroe  ft  Metz,  Pr's,  60  John  St.,  N.  Y. 


5n<^/ 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


3  9031   01460864  0 


DOES  NOT  CIRCULATE 


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